The Burning Leaves
by ajd09
Summary: Naruto has saved his best friend and lead to the destruction of Madara. The nations have prospered. However, twenty years pass and still someone lurks, waiting to take his mark. Will this new generation get caught in the middle of an unsettled score? A long fic, recommended for readers who like the focus on future generation OC . Mostly from canon predictions.
1. Discovered in the leaves

_**The Burning Leaves**_

_**Created, Revised, and Edited by:**_

_**AJD**_

_The following fan fiction assumes that during the fourth war, the joint shinobi overcame any and all obstacles they faced. Due to its nature, OCs will be used as a primary focus. However, all canon characters are matched with other canon characters and OCs are strictly the next generation. This is my first fan fic, so feel free to rip it apart!_

_*now with 37.4% more revision and editing!_

_**(Chapter 1-Discovered In the Leaves)**_

She resorted to sprinting now, each step pierced the tranquil spring day. Her heart raced and her eyes vigorously scanned for him. She had now become completely oblivious to the frequent barrage of leaves swatting her mid-run. Tired, her legs begged for a moments rest. A swift check to the rear ensured she'd made her escape.

As her gaze drifted forward, a sharp poke greeted the center of her forehead. Seemingly rehearsed, the taller figure powerfully exclaimed, "Too slow, Yuuki!" This sent her down, overwhelmed by the scare of it all. She immediately threw on a frown as their eyes met, hand rubbing the agitated area already.

"No fair Takeshi, you cheated!" A claim out of pure habit.

His serious demeanor broke into laughter. "Is it even possible to cheat in a game of tag? Look, you've gotten much faster, but you can't just overcome my speed so quickly." He extended his hand to help her up. "Or would you rather I go easy on you because you're a girl and your father's-"

"Takeshi!" Cutting him off, her cheeks were now flushed in embarrassment. She made damn sure he was listening. "Would you rather I just give up because you're a genius?" She took his hand now. "Every step forward you take, I'll be right behind you!"

He chuckled in amusement as he pulled her up. "Guess that explains why you lose every game of tag." She shot him an angry look. "What? I'm just saying you're supposed to stay one step ahead of your rival, remember?" _Here it comes, the inevitable outburst of rage that always follows my simple taunts_. Takeshi had acquired a skill for tuning it out by now. It's not like he didn't ask for them: To be honest, he kind of enjoyed teasing her. He decided it would be best to face away from her as she unloaded on him.

A gentle breeze swept the trees into a subtle sway as the sun peaked through the leaves. _It's such a perfect day. _The wilderness seemed to dance to the soothing song of the birds_. That leaves just one disturbance in the entire forest. _At the moment, the entire forest stared at them, seemingly appalled by the scolding. He let out an elongated sigh. _She's still going? Man, one minute she's exhausted, the next, it's like she's wired for the rest of the night. She's getting way too worked up over graduation. Despite her ignorant persona, she's got way more book smarts than me. Not to mention, we've been training for weeks now. I've never seen her so motivated before. She's made leaps and bounds already. Can't she just enjoy the setting?_

He attempted to listen in on what she was saying.**"…And don't even get me started on how much of an arrogant ass you are sometimes..."**_ not yet. _He ran his hand through his short hair as he looked up. _Actually, these weeks have been nice now that I think about it. The forest is always so calm. But…I have such a strange feeling today. Why does something feel wrong? _Takeshi scanned around him sure something had been watching them. His quick assessment showed he was likely just paranoid. He took a minute to shake his thoughts off. _I'm getting tired, that's all. There's no way I can keep going. But I can't show weakness, not after all that._ "**So keep laughing it up, you bastard!**" …_Her parents would kill her if they heard half of what comes out of that mouth. I hope she's worn herself out by now._

_"_Yuuki, we should call it a night. Your dad would be furious if he caught you out here again, suggesting he doesn't already know." He turned to her and gave a half-hearted smile.

"Did you even hear a word I said?" He began nervously laughing, rubbing the back of his head. She lifted her hand to her face, tensing up before giving out a relaxed sigh. "If you think you're off the hook, you're wrong." She looked him over. His hands were now tucked into his loose fitting shorts. He wore the same old black, short-sleeved hoodie with subtle traces of red here and there. His black hair held the same subtle spike to it, but was barely two inches in bulk. What was odd was the lack of focus he showed. Was something bothering him? "What's the rush? We have a good 2 hours before the sun sets."

Takeshi unsheathed his hands and crossed his arms. "Come on, we have six days to work out the rest of our kinks. You're going to be worn out for the exam if you push yourself too hard."

She put her hands on her hips now. "Well, I guess I could use some food, but me? Wear down?" She let out a conceited laugh. "That's cleaver, Takeshi. What you meant to say is you can't keep up another round. You should know me better than that after all these years."

He broke eye contact a little and put on a tough guy face. "As if..." That was a sure fire way of confirming it.

He started walking; she fell in close behind him. The temperature was just right and their walk felt so leisurely. "So peaceful today." Takeshi gave a nod of agreement, seemingly dazed by its beauty. "Do think it'll always be so calm here?"

He returned his hands to his pockets, ducking a branch. "I sincerely hope so. Regardless, I want to make this setting last as long as possible. That's why we're training so hard, isn't it?" He truly wished it to be the perfect day. _Why? Am I losing my cool? Is this hidden threat just my imagination at work?_

Yuuki observed him, and then let out a sigh. "You're always so dutiful. It makes you too tense. We're not even genin yet, so try to live for the moment, alright?"

He looked back to her for a moment with a convincing smile. She had a unique choice in ninja attire, for lack of a better word. She donned a sleeveless kimono dress, the top showing a strong orange and black combo, the bottom continuing to a more vibrant orange. Very lively, but it's a little…noticeable. Besides, her hair was shoulder length and lavender in shade. Try not picking her out of a crowd. He gathered his thoughts back on track. _No, she definitely would have said if she thought something was wrong by now_. They continued their casual pace, but it wasn't long before Takeshi became irate. It was to the point where he could no longer ignore it. Takeshi stopped dead in his tracks. _There! Something is definitely here!_ He grabbed Yuuki's right arm and pulled out a kunai knife. "Don't stop, don't look back. Just run, Yuuki."

She was startled. "Hey, what's this all the sudden?" She noted the serious, rushed nature of his command as he frantically searched their surroundings_._ The wind came to an abrupt stop. A very eerie silence consumed them. There they froze; Only their pounding heart remained. As his grip began to tighten on his kunai, a slight panic came over Yuuki. She now grabbed his arm. "Hey, this isn't funny Takeshi. Let's just-!"

A concise thrust ended her words. She only saw the blur of a kunai knife zip through where her head would have just stood. Takeshi's eyes shot to the weapons origins, but before he could even think, he realized it. His heart sank in despair, hearing the hiss of an explosive tag. He yelled for Yuuki, but she was still overcome with shock. "Yuuki, run!"

As if by some twisted cue, the blast sent them both flying back. Takeshi managed to catch some ground after smashing into a couple branches. His blinded eyes still attempted to transfix on Yuuki, despite the heavy smoke and chunks of earth pummeling his body. Yuuki was violently slammed into the base of a thick tree. The impact she made demanded an expression of pure agony. Takeshi tried to get up, but he was in bad shape: His vision sluggishly returned to him as the pain forced an examination. His left arm was definitely dislocated, heavily burnt, and his body had been torn by lacerations. The pain scalded his mind, but he pushed through and looked back to Yuuki.

A Figure already towered over her, blade unsheathed. The strong ringing in his ear began to fade away. Takeshi scrambled to a desperate run, but it was as if time had halted completely. The man finally spoke and the muffled words struck Takeshi's ears. "The precious leaves of Konoha shall burn! Hell's Phoenix has risen!"

Takeshi, numbed by fear, watched as the blade took a violent slash with no hesitation, cutting cleanly through Yuuki's throat. Blood showered the man as Takeshi's sanity shattered. Only one word erupted out of this broken boy. "**Yuuki!**"


	2. Burning Leaves

-Authors note for the curious-

I upped the length of my chapter preference, which is kind of tricky for me as a fairly new writer. I had good cliffhanger points that would have left the chapter short like the first one, but I opted to shoot for a 4.5k chapter. I think I did a decent job with sticking to my drafts, so I hope you enjoy this chapter. In an unrelated note, I did have an alternate chapter two that was quite dark in nature. Personally, it just seemed to be out of my style, so I went with this instead. I hope to at least crank out two more chapters before I move to my next duty station, but I just can't make the promise. Enjoy or destroy everyone!

*fixed scene confusion and stupid spelling errors

*now for realz!

_**(Chapter 2: The Burning Leaves)**_

Just as soon as all hope was crushed, Yuuki's body vanished in a cloud of white smoke. A blanket of confusion swept over them both, but Takeshi grabbed his last Kunai. He could feel its familiar engravings. The assassin stood, taken back by the surprise. "What? Was I misinformed? This brat must have been genin at least." Before the man could regain his composer, his left lung was pierced by a kunai.

The assassin mustered through the pain to face his attacker. "What the hell?" He observed Takeshi, whose glowing eyes beamed a blood red. "An Uchiha? They should have given me better information!" The man pulled out the kunai, not even flinching in pain. "Still, to think two genin did this to me. You can have this back now, you piece of trash!" The kunai was bolted straight at Takeshi's face. Takeshi could see it plainly, but his body just wouldn't move. _Shit, is this how I'm going to die?_ As it closed into a couple feet away, it vanished. The assassins eyes widened, befuddled. "What the?"

"You can have this back, you piece of trash." The assassin's body froze completely. "And now's when you shut the hell up and not even consider moving a muscle." A kunai already stained with the assassin's blood threatened to draw more from his neck on a whim. "Yuuki, grab Takeshi and find somewhere safe. I'll handle this."

Yuuki came out of the forest line and helped Takeshi up. She looked her savior over. His black flamed cloak drifted in the wind as he nodded his head, signaling her to leave. "I found a cave; it seems like a good place to wait this out. My dad can finish this up in a couple minutes." Takeshi couldn't stop staring at her, still semi-dazed. She laughed as she started hulling him away using his good arm. "Come on, I know I'm gorgeous, but now's not a good time."

Takeshi smiled as he looked away. "As if…consider it a sympathetic courtesy."

Yuuki laughed a little heartier now. "Still the same ass, I see."

Yuuki's dad made sure they got away safely. He noted the engravings on the kunai he held. His hostage began laughing. "Of all the people who could have shown up, it was the Sixth Hokage himself, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Are you deaf?" Naruto pressed the kunai deeper into the assassin's throat, drawing blood now.

"You won't kill me, will you?" The Hokage said nothing. "Even if you were the killing type, you're wondering why I've done what I did." The assassin smirked. "I'm just a pawn in a greater scheme. He told me you'd come, regardless if I got my mark or not. I will have the glory of taking the king with me! I can already see it: the great assassin takes out the Hokage!" He ripped of his jacket, revealing an undershirt made of explosive tags. He lit the fuses in a crazed laugh.

Naruto finally spoke. "You do realize I'm using a shadow clone right now, don't you?" The great assassin's eyes shrank.

"God damn you, Uzumaki Naruto!" He grabbed his last explosive kunai and launched it into the air. "Hell's Phoenix will burn this forest! Long live-!"

A massive blast ended the great assassin's legacy in irony. However, as his explosive kunai burst high in the air, flames arose in several areas of the forest. Naruto bore witness to the mayhem high in a tree. The Hokage threw up his famous hand sign, slightly annoyed. "Tsk. One of those days, huh? Where the hell is he? It's not like him to miss this kind of action."

OoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, in the secluded cave, Takeshi and Yuuki were trying to outlast the conflict. "Gah, Shit!" The sound alone of his shoulder being reset made Yuuki a little queasy. The cave howled a low tone with the wind.

_He's beat all to hell. All I can really do is try to distract him from the pain._ "It looks so painful…" She immediately face-palmed as he gave her a 'no shit' look. _Really, what can I say? I'm surprised he's still conscious. _"Sorry, I'm supposed to be making you feel better."

He chuckled under the pain. "This much I can handle, considering I could be dead." Takeshi looked to her now. "The pain was ten times worse seeing you get killed. In the end, I wasn't strong enough to even keep us alive." A faint smile showed on his face. "Your father: he saved us both in an instant without even breaking a sweat. I wish I had even a fraction of his power."

"Come on, don't beat yourself up. Considering your condition, it'll be the death of you." Takeshi smiled, but he still seemed down. Yuuki smiled. "For one, don't compare yourself to my dad, he's ridiculously strong. And two, don't give him that much credit. It'll go to his head." The mood was lightening a little now. "Besides, that was my shadow clone, not his."

Her statement made his eyes widen. "Since when did you know a jutsu? Wait, since when did you have the time to use it?" He scrunched his face trying to recall any signs. "What the hell?"

She laughed, "Remember when you were completely ignoring me while I was screaming at you?" he seemed to jolt a bit. "You guessed it."

"That's a relief. I just thought you were being extra bit-"

"Before I literally kill you, yes, I had my clone follow you while I waited to ambush you. Right when I was about to strike…it all happened."

"You are definitely the most unpredictable person I know, but thanks. Given their nature, that was one hell of a clone you made." She seemed confused, but all along, the 'menacing threat' Takeshi felt had been her. _Still, to think she executed the jutsu so well. Pretty impressive, Yuuki._

"Oh, and it gets better! I unlocked my byakugan!" Takeshi laughed, having already noticed when she helped him up. That was part of the reason he was so shocked. She frowned at him though. "Hey, come on! This is a big deal to me!" She scoffed. "But of course, the minute I take the lead, you went and unlocked your stupid sharingan." He looked at her with a dumb face, as an awkward silence ensued. "Did you really not know by now? Are all Uchiha your level of genius?" After he gave her a strong glare, the genius rehashed the fight. _Hmm…fast things being easy to see…time feeling slower…how didn't I notice?_

He laughed, putting on a nonchalant face. "It's kind of funny…" Yuuki was all ears. "You actually believed you were a step ahead of me. How arrogant of you." He invoked a blind fury. She instantly raised her fist, which shook in rage. "Hey, remember, I'm injured here!" She nearly punched through his left arm, quickly reminding him of the pain. "Shit! That was excessive!"

Yuuki combed her hair out of her face, "Your ego is excessive, ass!" He seemed normal, but she could tell he was still bothered. Both of them were troubled. What they witnessed first-hand was very disturbing. As she ignored him cursing under his breath, she noticed a flickering light. She looked out of the cave and her jaw dropped. "What? The forest is on fire! What the hell is dad doing?"

OoOoOoOo

"Why…did I ever believe…that man?" The man was defeated not even a minute after the signal was given to burn Konoha. "The leaf…is invincible." He forced his head up to see the eyes of a sage transfixed on him. "You already got all fifteen of us, didn't you?"

Naruto disregarded him and instead formed two shadow clones. "Was this what you really hoped to accomplish? Was this your plan?" A swirling blue chakra began to glow in his hand.

The man coughed up blood before responding. "Wasn't my idea, killing me solves nothing." He smirked. "That man's ambition…it's simply magnetic. I don't remember seeing anyone as stubborn as he is about his beliefs."

The jutsu reached its climax and he appeared to hold a massive glowing shuriken. Naruto faced away from the man. "Luckily for you, killing isn't in my nature. At least until I see a reason to kill you directly." Naruto stood firmly and looked up.

The man was shocked. "Uzumaki, I know that jutsu. Wind is going to guarantee the entire forest is ablaze. I implore you to stop!" The Sixth Hokage ignored his words and launched his rasengan into the center of the fires. There it exploded into a massive torrent of water and a powerful wind overcast the area. _What? Water?_ Naruto faced the man again.

"Your plans have failed at every turn. Did your leader really expect me to make no progress for all these years?"

The injured man laughed, which inadvertently made him cringe in pain. "You are truly an admirable Hokage, Uzumaki. But I wonder…how good of a father are you? That man's not quite done yet." In a yellow flash, the man was suspended in the air only a couple inches from Naruto.

"Bastard! You don't know shit about me! You just gave me that direct reason to kill your sorry ass!"

"Please, I know I've lost!" Naruto began reaching for a kunai. "Believe me, my leader has some very dishonorable qualities. I was giving you a hint! As we speak, he is likely killing the two youths personally!"

Naruto's proud eyes narrowed. "No…" In a single blink, the man was left momentarily airborne before falling to the floor. The bleeding man smirked. _I remember now; A man whose vision was pure and second to none. I really am a fool…to think I could get away with threatening the legendary Sixth Hokage._ The nameless assassin drifted out of consciousness.

OoOoOoOo

Yuuki and Takeshi remained in the cave. "Where the hell did this storm come from?" Takeshi was still in awe at the situation himself. As the massive downpour came to a halt, an orange sun began piercing through the cave's opening. She was frustrated by the weather. "Why does this nightmare keep getting stranger and worse every minute?"

Takeshi inhaled sharply and exhaled soothingly. "It would appear as though everything is still going our way somehow. Try to just relax, Yuuki. At this point I'm sure the whole village is aware of what's happened. Back up teams won't be too far away now."

She smiled now. "Hey, you're right! Yeah, this terrible situation will hopefully come to an end soon!" Now the sun that peaked through became blocked by the shadow of a man. They both shot a look of horror, knowing that wasn't their savior.

"From your skeptical faces, may I assume this isn't the end you two were counting on?" He formed a couple hand signs and the cave exit was completely sealed. "Weak ass lackeys, but it appears everything ended up according to plan."

"Shit!" Yuuki jumped up just before Takeshi did. An added adrenaline burst came when her byakugan activated on command. "He's an earth user; we're just going to have to do this!"

"I know!" Takeshi stood in front of Yuuki with his sharingan already active. Yuuki tossed him a kunai and they held a defensive stance.

"How unfair, you both can see just fine. I hadn't counted on those bloodlines activating. What an annoying miscalculation." The man busted out with a heinous laugh. "NOT! I can hear you, dumbasses!" He began to unload a flurry of kunai and ninja stars at the source of the heavy breathing. Takeshi could only catch glimpses of the man's movement, but his right arm naturally shifted to counter all of the weapons that threatened them. The man really couldn't see too well. In a growing frustration, the man ceased fire to open a faint light source in the cave. "Don't get arrogant, brats. I'm losing patience with your petty survival games." He slipped out a scroll and summoned a massive amount of ninja tools. "Let's get started, shall we?"

With the added light, Takeshi could almost laugh at the mass amounts of weapons being hurled at him. Yuuki slowly stepped into the darker area behind them and waited for a chance to strike. The man became more maniacal, throwing larger weapons at Takeshi. He could hardly dodge the massive things, let alone deflect them. When the leader reached for the fifth massive weapon, Yuuki scooped up some of his tools and threw them at him. The man was forced to defend the quick onslaught. "Nice work Yuuki!" Takeshi began helping.

"You've angered me, brats!" He formed a wall to shield himself from the attacks. After the weapons stopped pelting it, he jump out from behind the wall and began forming hand signs. Takeshi noticed the jutsu immediately. "Shit, a fire jutsu also?" Takeshi wildly threw out six hand signs himself and both performed the jutsu simultaneously. "Katon: Gokyou no jutsu!"

The cave became engulfed in bright flames. Their jutsus met midway and stalemated. Yuuki watched as either side attempted to outlast each other. The intense heat dried her skin. She saw Takeshi slightly twitch his eyes at her. _Right, there's no way he'll be able to keep up with that monster. It's now or never!_ She thrust a kunai as hard as she could at the man, but before it could reach, Takeshi's jutsu engulfed him. Yuuki looked back to Takeshi. "Whoa, way to go!"

Takeshi was exhausted. He released his sharingan, too tired to use it any longer. "Yeah, but did that actually finish him?" The hole in the roof closed again and Yuuki vigorously scanned for him. "Where's he at, Yuuki?" Takeshi's voice was both hasty and nervous.

"I don't know, he's not in the cave!"

After a moment of silence, the thug's voiced echoed again. "It would appear you have no chakra left, boy."

"What the?" Yuuki questioned as she found the source of the voice was a hole.

"It was cute of you two to play ninja, but I must kill you now. Know that this was your fathers' fault and not your own. Fuuton: Shinkhua no jutsu!"

Yuuki panicked. "Takeshi, hold your breath as long as you can." They both inhaled as they attempted to think up a plan. The rate the air was leaving the cave was fast, but wasn't strong enough to carry a weapon by itself. What little air remained was quickly beginning to vanish. Takeshi knew he couldn't form another jutsu. It was all up to Yuuki. Takeshi was collapsing.

She pulled out her kunai. _I'm not going to last much longer! _She noticed the shredded piece of Takeshi's sleeve and pulled it off. Her ears burst from the huge pressure drop. _I…have to…this…has...to…_ As she finished fastening the cloth to the kunai, she collapsed. Fortunately, she dropped it right into the hole and it quickly sucked it through.

The assassin leader began to consider stopping. It was getting tough to vacuum any more air out of the cave. Before he could form a thought, an odd kunai launched out butt first. _The hell? _It lodged itself in his throat before he even realized what was happening. He cancelled the jutsu before it did more damage. Pissed off didn't even scratch the surface of his mood. _Who would come up with this shit? And what's worse, it freaking worked!_ He punched himself in the gut, causing him to vomit out the kunai. Just as he composed himself, his plans were completely thwarted.

"Rasengan!" The cave imploded slightly as Naruto arrived on scene. He wiped his mouth off, smirking.

"So you finally figured it out, Hokage?" He was blown off as Naruto checked the children's' vitals. "It would appear I didn't plan carefully enough for this mission to succeed. Of course, next time you won't be so lucky. That's right! Not even you will stop me!"

"You guys talk too much." Naruto again stared the man down.

"Oh? You gonna do something about it, Great Hokage? The man smirked

Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Nope." He said it as blandly as possible.

The man struggled at first to find words. "Biton was right, you are a true dumbass. Don't think you can charm your way into my heart. I will kill-"

A blade of lighting pierced through the man and electricity overwhelmed his body. Naruto picked up the kids and focused back on the man. "I'm not about to let you live, but you also miscalculated everyone you'd piss off. Some of us prefer actions over words, right Sasuke."

He scoffed. "Cut the cool guy act, Naruto. We're done for now, but there's a lot of shit to sort through."

The seemingly dying man struggled to laugh. "Yes…ponder. Remember my name well. Guden: the tamer of Hell's Phoenix!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Shut the hell up already." He lifted to cut the man in half, but he exploded into magma making them back up. Sasuke's eyes widened a little. "A magma clone? That's a nasty jutsu there." Naruto began snickering. "Any ways, this complicates things. This guy will be back." Naruto was now laughing. "Alright, what's so damn funny?"

"You're not hurt are you, scaredy cat?" Naruto nearly dropped the kids laughing so hard.

"I hate you sometimes…"

The Hokage regained his composure. "Well, we need some humor. We have fifteen people to interrogate.

Sasuke facepalmed. "You could have just killed the weakest five or so."

Naruto countered his argument, "That's because you take shortcuts in life, except to the battlefield tonight, apparently."

"Well excuse me for not stalking my teenage boy every ten minutes."

Naruto got a lot more defensive now. "And look where that got Takeshi!"

"You're right; I guess the Hokage could have done a better job watching them!" Sasuke's annoyance was clearly showing.

Naruto backed off and looked away, both pissed off and upset. He made fifteen clones and recovered the bodies. "I did everything I could. At least they're still alive." He looked back to Sasuke. "After all of these years, who could have predicted this?"

Sasuke relaxed some more. "We still would have been too late, though. If it wasn't for that ridiculous kunai, they'd be dead. I'm sure you know what I would have done then."

Naruto grew somber. "Yeah, I know." The serious mood grew into an awkward silence. As Naruto walked forward, he kicked a battered kunai. He looked down and noted the familiar engravings. "They were impressive, weren't they?" Sasuke noticed what Naruto saw. He picked up the two kunai for him. "Hey at least we know my daughter is stronger than your son!" Naruto smirked as Sasuke began bickering about how wrong Naruto was. They traded verbal blows back and forth the whole return to the village.

OoOoOoOo

As they got back into the gates, Naruto gave the children to Sasuke. "I have to get these guys to Ibiki. He still knows better than everyone else when it comes to interrogation. Please get them to the hospital ASAP. I had a clone get Sakura ready to meet you there."

Sasuke's eyes expanded even greater than before. "Oh, come on! Don't just dump this on me!" Naruto laughed as he returned to the office. Sasuke looked at the children. "How the hell am I going to give her a satisfying explanation? That bastard!"

Sasuke neared the hospital and couldn't help seeing a certain pink haired ninja. Her arms were crossed and face was clearly not amused. Sasuke tried to brighten her mood as he approached. "Hey Sakura! It's really not as bad as it sounds!" She stepped right through his smile with a kick, catching the children. He flew back a good thirty feet. "I said it's NOT as bad as it sounds!"

She became irked. "Oh really? Look at our son, ass-tard! What about it doesn't look bad?" Sasuke sighed in shame. She gripped Takeshi a little closer as a few tears came out. "God only knows what he witnessed tonight. How can you be fine with that?" Sasuke said nothing and stoically walked away. "Where do you think you're going?"

He stopped and turned his head to her with a face that could paralyze the Kyuubi itself. "To kill the man who did this." Sakura's face was swept by shock and excitement. He continued to walk towards the Hokage's office. Sakura could only watch as he walked away.

She looked to the kids then swiftly ran inside. "That room had better be ready!" Every personnel hugged the wall for safety as she dashed the kids through. She wasted no time tending to Yuuki, but there really weren't any major physical injuries. She then moved on to her son, crying again at the thoughts of what he went through. She noted the burnt left arm that was obviously dislocated at one point. His whole body had lacerations covering it. Sakura also noticed that he expended the majority of his chakra. "What the hell was Naruto doing? How did things go this far?" She quietly began healing her son, alone.

OoOoOoOo

Naruto slammed his hands on the desk. "Do these guys know anything? Why the hell are they even working for this Guden creep?"

"Calm down, Naruto! We're only eight people in. Just give me time to run through what this Guden guy said." Shikamaru thoughts raced through the information in his head. _Hell's phoenix. Obviously he has a past resentment towards Naruto. He targeted Yuuki, so he's looking to anger Naruto and likely to get Naruto out of the village. Overall, the man's plan was a failure solely due to Yuuki and Takeshi. It would seem this plan was made within three days. _

"So what are you thinking, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "This Guden guy is out to get you, and he'll be back."

Naruto just narrowed his eyes. "No shit." Shikamaru sighed, feeling a loss of pride.

"Anyways, he won't be back for a long time. This wasn't his original plan. I'm sure someone noticed the children's bad habit and informed him. Obviously he wants you to blindly search for him so he can take you out. I wager only one man in the group you brought was well informed. However, he's not a man who takes chances, so what information we can get is limited."

Naruto widened his eyes. "No shit?" Shikamaru felt satisfied with his response. "I guess we'll just let Ibiki handle the weeding out part."

"That's easy for you to say." Naruto got a jolt of refreshment. "You've got those shadow clones to get the rest you need. It's not easy for anyone else to pull these late night shifts. Right, Temari?" He nudged her to wake her up.

"Give me a break! You don't have to do half the work I do! You're just as lazy as when I first met you!" She passed back out as he held an annoyed face.

"All these years and she's still troublesome." He sighed again. The door slammed open at that point as Sasuke entered. All eyes were on him.

"Where is this bastard, Naruto?" He was clearly not amused. When all Naruto had as a response was a saddened turn away, Sasuke went straight to the interrogation room.

"Wait, Sasuke. Ibiki can handle that!" Those words fell on deaf ears as swung open the door.

Ibiki turned to him. "What is it, Uchiha Sasuke?" The man being interrogated already quivered in fear. Sasuke ignored Ibiki and unsheathed his sword.

"Where is your leader, Guden?" The man sweated frantically.

"I…I don't know! We just saw the pay and signed without question!" The man's eyes twitched slightly.

Sasuke instantly cut the man's arm cleanly off. He screamed at the blistering pain. "That's bullshit! You knew who your mark was. You asked questions to the man and I demand his answers. If you won't tell me, there's fourteen more where you came from. I will kill you!" Just as Ibiki stepped in to intervene, the man began talking.

"It's Hell's Phoenix. Our forces were meant to attack the village in four years, but then the kids came into play! We are on the better half of the skill side, that's why he sent us! He's going to need time to execute the original plan! There, fix my arm!"

Sasuke put his sword to the man's throat. "If you won't tell me where, then I'll have the Yamanakas just dive into your head and figure it out anyways." The man stared in defiance, and then thrust his head through Sasuke's blade. Sasuke himself was taken back along with everyone else. Ibiki stood and casually wiped the blood off his face.

"Amateur." He calmly said as he went to get the next assassin. The group was speechless at what they had just witnessed. Sasuke whipped the blood off his sword and slowly walked out.

He stopped next to Naruto and looked back. "This is going to be harder than we thought."


	3. Painkillers

-Authors note-

I had a lot of fun with this one. I took this time to spoon-feed in more characters, while assuring focus remained on the main characters. This is one of the few chapters that little action took place in, but still moving the story forward. I will continue my opinion after the chapter.

**(Chapter 3-Painkillers)**

Yuuki cringed, tossing about as her dreams imprinted an atmosphere of suspense. An exaggeratingly massive man clocked in a dark shade approached her. When she mustered the courage to attack, a concussive shockwave blasted her down. She closed her eyes in fear as the man unsheathed his sword. The sound that followed was a solid clank. Yuuki opened her eyes to find Takeshi parrying the blade. They traded blow after blow as her fear melted into hope. Finally, Takeshi caught the man with a kick to the face and started a jutsu. The dark man charged to stop him, blade ready to strike. From here it was all about speed. She nervously watched as her heart pounded harder.

OoOo

"Ramen!" The door was slammed open with amazing authority. Yuuki screamed, throwing herself out of the bed and face planting on the floor. "Oh good, it's the right room this time!"

"Dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" She pushed herself to a sitting position and finally realized where she was. The adrenaline left. "Am I in the hospital?" Her stomach gnawed at her; a friendly reminder of her malnutrition.

"Yuuki, what would your mother think about that kind of language? I'll let that slide because you had such a rough night." Naruto stood tall now and grew very serious. "You know better than to train in the forest! I'm not as mad as I am disappointed in you." Visible guilt swelled up inside her. "Do you see the weight of your bad decisions?" Naruto inhaled and stopped himself from continuing. "I think this can wait." He handed her a fresh bowl of hot ramen and grinned. "Right now, I'm proud as a parent and happy you're alive!"

She gave him a matching grin as she accepted the bowl and prepared to eat. "Takeshi and I could have taken them all down if we weren't so hungry!" Right as the first bite was inches away she immediately put it back down. "Where's Takeshi? Why isn't he here?" She was in the early stages of a panic attack.

Before her father could answer, a familiar voice entered the room. "Did you really expect those scratches to bring me down? I'm almost offended!" A great smile came over as subtle tears forced themselves out of her.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto slurped down the rest of his bowl before continuing. "There's something I need to give you two." He shifted his eyes to Takeshi with a slightly more serious face. "Uchiha Takeshi, you remained vigilant even on the most peaceful of occasions. You looked fear in the eyes, completely outclassed, and protected those important to you. Despite the heavy beating you endured, you proved that leaf ninja can never be outclassed in heart." Naruto pulled out a battered, blood dried kunai. "From what I can tell, this kunai has significant value to it. It's also the very one that struck the assassin, survived a massive explosion, and found its way to my feet. Keep it as a symbol of your courage and tenacity." Takeshi's eyes widened as he received the kunai. He could still make out the engravings of his initials; the mark of his first kunai. He smiled as he showed his respect to the Hokage.

Naruto smiled and turned to Yuuki. "Uzumaki Yuuki, who did you inherit that intelligence from?" she chuckled a little. "You have always been full of energy and high spirits. However, even when you are frustrated, your decision skills and motivation remain unmatched. In hopes that luck and unique creativity continue to follow you, I present the weapon that saved your lives!" He pulled out the improvised 'parachute kunai' Yuuki made while losing consciousness. She'd almost forgotten about it, but Takeshi's sleeve was still fastened.

"So that's where the better part of my sleeve went!" Takeshi added. Yuuki expressed mirth towards the comment.

Naruto handed off the creation. "This is a symbol of wisdom and strategy." She accepted it, feeling embarrassed by her father's praise. Naruto smirked. "Oh, and don't worry about the vomit. We cleaned it off for you."

Yuuki dropped it instantly in disgust. "That's just wrong!" The boys shared a brief laugh.

"Now that leaves just one more thing." He cleared his throat and stood a little more formal. "After a brief discussion with Iruka and several jonin, we made quite the conclusion. I suppose this really has never happened, but it appears no one has been dismissive of it." Yuuki and Takeshi leaned in a little closer in curiosity. "Uchiha Takeshi and Uzumaki Yuuki, under the authority of the Sixth Hokage, it is my honor to welcome you into the ranks of our ninjas." He pulled out two forehead protectors. "You are both top of the class genin graduates. We all as parents were proud of you, so this is our way of helping you symbolize your own pride."

They quickly grabbed the headbands and made several comments on them. Naruto could only smile as he watched his youngest child in so much joy. _These two are going to be the heart of Konoha in the future. _"I'll be at the front desk when you two have calmed down." He snatched the unattended bowl of ramen and snickered on his way out. _You have to eat quicker than that, Yuuki._ He showed mercy on the door this time as he gently closed it.

As they quieted down, Yuuki stared at the headband now with mixed feelings. It was a bittersweet way of becoming a ninja. Takeshi observed her for a moment before letting out a sigh. "That was one hell of a graduation exam, huh?" She gave a halfhearted smile as she firmly lifted her kunai. _This may be difficult to discuss for her. _Suddenly, she chucked it through the wooden door in anger. _Oh man, this is way worse than I thought. _

"If you're going to leave, leave damn it!" Takeshi panicked. _She's snapped! How am I going to fix this?_ "And you owe me two bowls of ramen now!" Takeshi's eyebrows twitched in confusion.

A voice came from the other side of the door. "You've got some serious problems, you know that! Now I have to pay for that door to! Do you think I can shit money?" Takeshi felt sweat drop on the back of his neck.

"Find a better hobby than stalking your daughter! And don't play the money card; you're the Hokage, dumbass!"

Naruto stomped away. "Bah, damn teenagers!" Tears were rolling exaggeratingly out his eyes.

She deeply inhaled and relaxed again. "Are you sure you're alright Takeshi?"

He was caught off guard and slightly pulled away. "Well I was beaten to a pulp, but I'm just a little sore now. I feel fine compared to last night."

"That's good, but you know that's not what I meant .We were attacked! We're fourteen years old and we almost died! I know it comes with being a ninja, but I can't believe so many strong people tried to kill two kids." Her fists were tightened and her facial expression was that of an angry confusion.

Takeshi looked to the floor. "It's not the same for me. I don't care if they tried to kill me twice or twenty times."

She swung an arm, as if trying to swat his lies away. "Bull shit! We weren't even genin and we were on a hit list!" She just knew he was lying, he was always like this. She stood in an angry stance as she waited for him to continue. He pocketed his hands and looked away.

"You never let me finish." She crossed her arms and waited for a response. "It really doesn't bother me that I almost died." He looked back to her but could only look back away in shame. "What bothers me is how powerless I was to save you." She instantly showed shock as he glanced out the window. "They say I was the top of our class; a genius. But not only did you save yourself, I was the one who ended up needing saving."

Yuuki saddened at the way he saw it. "It's not like anyone would blame you for anything. That clone wasn't me, and even if it was, you did everything you could to protect it. That kunai would have gone straight through its head if you hadn't pushed it." He remained staring out the window. "And in the cave, if you hadn't countered his jutsu, I would be dead. Do I also need to remind you who warded off the vicious onslaught of ninja tools and whose sleeve saved us in the end?" He appeared to be feeling better about his efforts through a rubbing of his head. She genuinely smiled. "If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago."

He started blushing faintly. "Well, I guess I am pretty badass."

She facepalmed as he laughed. "Way to ruin it."

He faced her now. "I do agree though. It's disturbing to think people would target us. But we fought." His words seem to be attempting to convince himself now. "Both of us together managed to beat the odds and live. We should remember that as wear these headbands." He put his hands on her forehead protector. "There's no rush, but let's shoot for chunin together." They locked eyes for a moment.

"Good lord, what did you do to this door, Uzumaki?" They quickly looked away as Takeshi withdrew his hands. "And what did you get Takeshi involved in, _dry eyes_?"

Yuuki gritted her teeth. "Noriko, why are you here? Freaking creeper."

Takeshi put his hand over his face. _Of all the girls to walk in the door, why did it have to be her? Now it's going to get loud in here._

Noriko made no expression at all. "You can relax. I'm not here to show you up." Anger began radiating from Yuuki. "I'm just here to make sure you two made a full recovery."

"Why the hell do you care?"

Noriko looked at Yuuki with a fake smile. "For you? Strictly for job security. It's not like I was concerned about you." The flames building inside her would surely erupt any minute. "I'm here on my mother's orders. I did do the minor patch work on you two, after all. Putting differences aside, I honestly have sympathy for what happened." The flames died down. "I congratulate you two on how well you did. Judging by the headbands and Takeshi's injuries, I wager it was life-threatening."

Yuuki grinned. "It was nothing me AND Takeshi couldn't handle. They opted to graduate us top of the class." Yuuki stuck her nose in the air. "I guess that means I beat you."

Noriko's eye narrowed. "Yes, you finally managed to beat me in something that doesn't involve paper and pencil." Takeshi felt the flames rising again. "Let's see." She put her finger to her lips and looked up. "That puts our record at about ninety-nine to one." He backed away as he felt a quaking rage build. "Oh! AND I still have cute, normal eyes."

Yuuki flashed her byakugan and charged her. "Bitch, I'll kill you!" Noriko noted this and raised her hand to signal a stop. Yuuki barely restrained herself. "What?"

"This is a hospital. What is the logic in injuring each other in a place of healing?"

Yuuki lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, is that fear I sense, _creeper_?"

Noriko glint a subtle smile. "Yes actually. The thought of humiliating you in my place of work would reflect very poorly on my character." Yuuki let out an infuriated grunt, still seeing her point about the hospital anyways. _One of these days, Noriko! One of these days… _"Anyways, it would appear you are both in good condition. Please go check out at the front desk." She was already sifting through the medical papers.

Takeshi pushed Yuuki out the door. "Yes, thank you very much for your help. Have a good day!" As they got in the hall, Takeshi stopped her briefly. "Yuuki, calm down! Getting flared up over stupid things is exactly what fuels her. Besides, what are the chances of seeing her very often anymore?" She relaxed her fist and eventually nodded. They made their way to the front desk and were dismissed. "I should get home soon. I'm sure my mother is worried and upset. She told me something urgent arose."

Yuuki waved him off. "I have to wait for dad. He's probably snooping as usual. Make sure you keep your head on a swivel. See you around, Takeshi!" He withdrew a hand from his pocket and raised it as he walked away. She watched him until he was gone and smiled. After a brief look around the room, she noticed her father seriously reading a couple scrolls. _Looks like those are pretty important. He'll be gone all day today. _"Hey dad, let's go! I'm starving."

Naruto immediately tucked away the scrolls and smiled. "That's fine by me. I'm getting hungry myself." If she didn't know him any better, her jaw would have dropped. "We have to be quick though, your mother is really worried about you." She nodded and they headed off to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar.

OoOoOoOo

Takeshi finally arrived at his home. He opened the door and carefully entered. It was pretty quiet inside, as the only noise was the steam of a cooking meal. It smelled abnormally good, so he decided to go check on how long it would take.

As he casually stepped into the kitchen, his face was smashed by a frying pan. The pink haired culprit screeched and began vice grip hugging the petrified boy. "Takeshi! My poor baby, you know you can't sneak around like that! Why didn't you keep your head on a swivel? Are you hurt? Are you feeling better?" Sakura began panting in anxiety. "Why won't you say anything?"

His face was already blue as he forced out the words, "Can't…breathe!" She instantly released him and facepalmed at her lack of strength control. As Takeshi recovered his breath, he stood back up. "I'm guessing father isn't home then?" She confirmed his theory and stood up herself. "I see…I was really hoping to ask him a few questions."

"It's about the sharingan, isn't it?" She went back to stirring the food. "Lucky for you, there is _someone_ here who can help you out."

Takeshi's mood brightened. "No way, Hitomi is actually here today?"

"Yes, your lovely sister broke her arm on a mission yesterday. She insisted on taking a week off." Takeshi figured it must have been serious to actually slow her down. "And no, it's not that serious. She's malingering if you ask me. Go tell her to get over that attitude of hers while you're at it. Remember to keep your head on a swivel next time!"

Takeshi quickly took off to her room. It wasn't often he got to see his sister like he used to. She was a jonin and recently even became ANBU. He couldn't wait to catch up. He activated his sharingan before he went in. _She'll never see this coming. _ As the door opened he was forced to barely dodge two books that literally went through the wall behind him. He snapped, "What the hell is wrong with the women in this house?"

Hitomi looked up and saw Takeshi. "Oh shit, my bad. Come in." She got up to close the door.

"What the hell was that? It sounds like your arm is just fine to me. If you broke the wall again, I swear-"

She shut the door and looked down at Takeshi and noticed his eyes. "I take it you had a rough night?" He nodded. "Aww, but look at the two totem left eye and one totem right. It's so cute." Her fingers widened his eyes for him.

He shoved them off and laughed. "Very funny, but I actually have some questions as you'd imagine."

She sat down on her bed and signaled for him to follow suit. "I'm not going anywhere soon, so I'm all ears. We haven't talked in a while, so let's catch up." They shared a smile as he thanked her and sat down.

OoOoOoOo

Ayame and Teuchi were exhausted. "There's no way we can keep this up, Naruto!" They had already torn through the day's supply of ingredients. "God bless you for your family's appetite, but I can barely account for just how much you guys eat."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, laughing. "That's okay, my salary can barely account for it either!" Yuuki finished her twelfth bowl before sighing in satisfaction. "It looks like my love for ramen was passed down. Later old man, Ayame-chan" They waved them off as Naruto and Yuuki left. Naruto looked to Yuuki. "I guess this is a good time for the discipline part." She frowned. "Don't try to give me that, you broke a rule I've been emphasizing for a while. As of right now, you're grounded until the rest of your class graduates." She grunted and rolled her eyes. "It's a lenient punishment if you ask me. Besides, you can keep your mother company. On top of that, Isami will be there until mid-day."

Yuuki showed surprise in his words. "What's the occasion? Brother actually has time off?"

"Well, I can't tell you who or what, but one of his members broke an arm on a mission. He felt bad about it, so he's making sure the member is in good shape."

Yuuki seemed puzzled. "So, this would be a female member then. He doesn't usually request time off for things like this."

Naruto sighed. "Perceptive as always I see. I think he's just trying to be his mischievous self as usual. He knows she's fine, he healed her himself. This could be good though. He can help you hone your byakugan." A light bulb seemed to go off in her head. "Just don't forget about shadow clones! They are pretty awesome."

Yuuki laughed. "Those are only good for distractions. I don't see a practical use for them in battle."

Naruto grinned. "You don't even know 1% of their potential." She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "No, but surely they're useless when you're training. I won't bore you with information about a useless _forbidden_ jutsu."

"You've got to be kidding me. Just tell me." She was becoming annoyed.

"You'll figure it out if you use them enough. I wouldn't tell you to figure it out if I knew you couldn't handle them. I can tell you'll have the chakra for it. Hey, it even took me three years to catch on to their primary advantage."

She smiled. _Bingo! _"I guess I'll just have to figure it out in three days." They finally neared the house.

Naruto looked to her curiously. "What makes you so sure it'll be that easy?"

They stopped walking and she turned to him. "Because you suck at hiding information when you talk to me. If you 'caught on' to them, then it's just a matter of perceptiveness. And tell Hitomi to get well soon if you see her!" Naruto's jaw dropped. _Did she really come from my gene pool?_

"This is where I take my leave. Tell your mother I have work at the office, but we're still on for tonight. Good luck!" He vanished in a flash.

"Guess it really is important business then." She looked across the way at Takeshi's house and sighed. "You better not leave me behind you jerk!"

She rushed inside and yelled, "I'm home, mom!" Hinata jumped, as she was cleaning near the door. "Sorry mom, I didn't mean to scare you."

Hinata hugged her daughter gently before pulling away. "I was worried about you, Yuuki. Are you feeling alright? Did your father already talk to you?"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Just a little sore, that's all." She sighed. "Dad grounded me for five days."

Hinata smiled. "You know it's only because we love you. And I'm glad you're just sore, but you know that's not what I mean. First, Isami won't stay put forever. I know you haven't seen him much, so go talk to him."

Yuuki sighed again. "He's such a pervert though! I'm sure all he's going to talk about is the latest girl he's been chasing." Hinata gave her a stern look. "Okay, I get it. Where's he at?"

Hinata smiled as she went back to finish cleaning up. "He's in the backyard training." She thought for a moment. "I hope he's training anyways. Tell him to make less of a mess when he's here!"

Yuuki listened and headed outside. The yard was actually quite large and well suited for training. It wasn't as huge as Takeshi's, but it looked much nicer. She found her brother meditating on the small bridge that arched over the small decorative river. She closed in and started a conversation. "Hey Isami, mom told me to come talk to you, so-"

He leaped up and pointed at her. "Finally! Prepare for battle, sister!" She looked at him in shock, unable to think. _Huh?_

"No, I'm really not in the mood for a spar." A clone jumped at her and dispersed before he hit her. She was getting annoyed. "That's not going to work, you won't make me!" Several clones showed up now, each dispersing an instant before they touched her. It was his famous annoy tactic. "Stop it!" They kept coming one after another before she kicked one between the legs and activated her byakugan. "Fine! Bring it on, perverted brother!"

He was crouched a little now for some reason. "One moment…" She seemed confused, but took the advantage to make two clones. He stood up again. "Not bad Yuuki! Exploiting a weakness in a jutsu is good. Let's see what you can do!"

She sent a clone to his back side and attacked with the other in front. He smiled as he began to parry every blow she through. As goofy as he was, his gentle fist style was quite superb. _What was he talking about, 'exploiting a weakness'? Maybe that's why I feel so sore. I found out the hard way that I see what my clones see. Is it just another reason they're bad news?_ She went for a leg sweep as her clone attacked for the blind spot.

He raised an eyebrow before shouting, "Eight trigrams palms heavenly spin!" Yuuki was launched away as her clones were released. She rubbed her head, frustrated. "I should have known you'd be able to pinpoint my blind spot now. That's all I wanted to see." He walked over to her and quickly healed all of the small scrapes. "Gentle fist is something that's honed from spars. You're getting better, Yuuki." He smiled and helped her up.

Yuuki smiled back. "It's nice to see you aren't in pervert mode today. You're almost like an older brother."

He laughed. "Yeah, well Hitomi is talking to her brother right now, so I figured I should talk to my sister."

"Wow, that's nice of you." She narrowed her eyes. "So you were being a pervert."

He started tripping over his words. "Come on! It's not like that! She was injured under my command, so I'm just checking to see if she's okay. Quit spreading rumors about me. Besides, she always did reject me. So what if I accidentally see something." She rolled her eyes and he smiled. "You and Takeshi dating yet?"

Her face turned pure red. "As if I'm interested in dating him! He's my childhood friend!"

Isami snickered now. "I see. Don't go peeking on him now that you can use the byakugan, pervy sister!"

She screamed as she kicked him as hard as she could between the legs, sending him down. "Don't put me in the same class as you! I can't believe you'd even think of these things! I'm leaving."

"Wait!" He slowly got back up and recovered. "I was just lightening the mood. I know something's bothering you. I'll behave; just tell me what's on your mind. I hate seeing you depressed, Yuuki!"

She stared at him and decided it was genuine. "Fine, but I get to vent all of it on you. Sure you can handle it?"

He smirked. "I've got five years on you, try me." They walked over to the bridge and sat down. There, she began to fill him in on what happened. After she finished, they both sat in silence. He turned to say something, but he just couldn't form the right words. "What's happening Isami? Why did we get attacked?"

He knew a good deal being an ANBU captain, but obviously if their father didn't tell her, he was trying not to worry her. "Yuuki, I know it's hard to understand. Dad and I want nothing more than to tell you everything, but we just can't risk information getting in the wrong hands." She looked into the pond with a sad face. He sighed. "This is something that won't be changed. It's been revealed that nothing is going to happen within the next four years. Just accept what's happening and use it to get stronger." She turned to him, knowing he probably shouldn't even be saying this much. "They aren't trying to get you or Takeshi specifically. It was just convenient for him, that's all." He rubbed his face as if telling himself to stop there. "I'm sure you can piece it together from there." Isami stood up. "Actually, it was nice talking with you about everything. I've got to go to dad's office. I'll talk to you again when I can."

It was strange for them to share a conversation like this anymore. "Isami." He looked at her as she smiled at him. "Bring this brother back more often, won't you?" He smiled back, putting on his wolf mask. He quickly dispersed and she was left alone. Yuuki stood up, this time happy. "He's right." She began stretching. "Five days? I'll become stronger than Takeshi in that time. Who knew my brother still had his caring side?" She laughed. "I better start training and stop getting depressed."

"Wow, do you always talk to yourself?"

She turned around and yelled in embarrassment. "Shut up! Get your lazy ass to dad's office already. I take back what I said about you being useful!" Isami laughed as he disappeared in a flash again. Yuuki used the brief anger to pump herself up. "Byakugan!"

-Author's character elaboration-

Noriko- She is obviously Yuuki's academy rival. Takeshi doesn't know why they hate each other so much, but Noriko finds great pleasure in making Yuuki angry. I think she adds a good witty counter to Yuuki. She is very indirect, but it doesn't seem to prevent her from coming out on top.

Hitomi-Takeshi's older sister who has always been there for him. As strong and cool as Takeshi can be, he seems to always appear childish when she's around. Hitomi doesn't take many things serious, but she is quite formidable when she does.

Isami-Yes, he is Naruto's nineteen year old son. And yes, he finds great pleasure in trolling others. Though his true strength is still a mystery to most, he has more than earned his high rank in ANBU. He teases his sister a lot, but deep down he only wants to protect her. Isami secretly guides his sister down the best path, and would gladly sacrifice himself for her. Oh, the wolf mask is my way of trolling the typical fox mask.

Small canon reunion and epic self-loathing (not the emo kind)! All in Chapter Four!

_/editor/- Found and fixed a few pacing issues in the first few paragraphs._

_Better, it took me to page three to actually nitpick. "warded __**of…**__" should have read "warded __**off…**__" lol, that's pretty abysmal, but still, it was noticed! Ehem…I don't need to remind you to check punctuation at the ends of your sentence, do I? Several consecutively missed question marks._

_Pg. 5:1 "…snooping as usual."-lol_

_Nice job overall. Yes, that was definitely a slow chapter, but it made me laugh a few times. I'm curious as to where you're going with this, but at least theirs a million questions that make me want to read more. Mirth? Malingering? Oh you fancy now haha. _

_I took the initiative to make pertinent changes I feel help relay your story better. Pull up your draft and let me know what you think. I know you'll look at the one you sent me and face palm. You're getting a lot better at writing!_

_-ET__3__ DURBIN, AUSTIN, J. ~ USS MOBILE BAY_


	4. Not Far Off the Tree

-Authors note-

You may have noticed how tough shadow clones are in this fic. My philosophy is the more chakra they have, the less you should be able to slap them away. Also, my spin on combat damage is fatigue to the original. Yuuki complains about them, but it's the first jutsu she's known, so uses them without question.

Also, I love writing fight scenes. There are some instances I can't describe what I'm seeing too well, but hopefully you can get a good picture of it all.

**(Chapter 4: Not Far Off the Tree)**

Yuuki studied her clones closely as they stalemated blow for blow. It had already been two hours of non-stop training and she opted to observe flaws in her technique. At first it was intriguing, utilizing them this way. However, after a while it became dull. She released them and took a brief intermission. Despite having byakugan and gentle fist brawling, she still felt surprisingly energetic. Maybe she was itching to get in on the action, but this time she needed to step it up.

She summoned two clones and this time observed them as they activated byakugan and faced her. Yuuki smirked, activating her byakugan as well. "You know what to do." Just as she settled her stance, they charged without hesitation. She parried the first blow and noted the second clone flanking around. She used her free arm to parry its incoming attack while thwarting the first clone's second strike. Immediately she began wondering how long she could keep it up. She hadn't been successful in seeing the chakra system and while she retained the majority of her chakra, these two were both quite strong. The pressure Yuuki felt was far greater than before. She was forced to attempt engaging them one at a time to prevent the chance of a double team. She noticed her style was improving already since the fight with her brother, but that also meant her clones were at the same level.

As she attempted another swift jump, she felt her balance sway a little and was quickly punished for it. The second clone quickly jabbed her lower right thigh as it simultaneously attacked her arm. The first clone parried her left arm away and gave Yuuki a palm thrust to the chest. The force threw her several feet back and slammed her to the ground. The clones backed off and waited for her to continue. She felt her chakra closed off to her right leg and the sharp pain in her chest. Both held a numb sensation joined by a burning pain. She attempted to force herself through the hurt and rose a couple inches. Unfortunately, she fell back down to one knee and began panting heavily. Her clones motioned towards her for aid, but they froze in their tracks at the expression she shot them. Despite the pain, her inner will began breathing new life into her. Very slowly, she scraped herself up and noticed her clones. They were faint, but she saw a semi-highway system in them. Every motion they made was mapped out as more of the blue fire concentrated to the point. _This is it!_ "Why are you just standing there?" She snapped, gaining her second wind. "I don't want you to stop until I'm out cold!"

They quickly both attacked from the front. Yuuki watched as the chakra pointed out their movements and easily began to parry them and even land a few checking blows. She managed to grab the second one and slung it into the first. A smirk grew upon her on sight of their frustration. "Time to give you two a little payback!" They again charged as the chakra indicated their attack. They both attempted to strike with their right arms. She raised an eyebrow as she dipped to the left. Yuuki pinned the left arm and left leg of the first one and spun. Using the momentum, she also landed her left heel into the first clone's face. The devastating combo forced the clone to disperse. The second clone retaliated with its right hand dropping at her. She parried with her left hand and pinned the clones left brachial artery. As it winced in pain, it tried to chop at her neck. She simply dipped under the swing and palmed her clones left side, destroying it.

The fatigue caught Yuuki as she collapsed with a smile. "I guess physical contact is risky, but rewarding. Seeing the chakra system was so amazing!" Her thoughts returned to the night before. She remembered seeing everything up to the kunai almost taking her head off. After it released, her eyes just activated by themselves. "It looks like a bit of trauma or courage helps it advance." She groaned at her soreness. "I suppose the pain is definitely one of the side effects of shadow clones to." Yuuki rested her weary eyes. "I'm going to take a well-deserved power nap now."

OoOoOoOo

"Is that really the best a genius can do, Takeshi?" Hitomi danced around his taijutsu with grace in an attempt to mock him. She occasionally struck him to teach him his flaws. Nothing was working: Jutsus, ninja tools, even his speed was useless. She finally landed a kick to his face launching him back. She smiled heartily at him. "Don't forget I used to be regarded as a genius." She stuck her tongue out playfully as he charged right back at her.

"Genius or not, like hell you're going to discourage me!" He had to admit she wasn't any easier to spar even with his sharingan. Takeshi stopped this time, inches away. He pulled back, realizing the waste of energy before smiling. "Care if we step it up a notch?" She chuckled at him, raising an eyebrow. Takeshi quickly made hand signs and spewed his clan's favorite fireball jutsu. As he predicted, she dodged to his right. He launched a couple shurikens as he cancelled his jutsu and charged her. He advanced, chucking several kunai straight into the air and began another futile taijutsu assault. She toyed with him as she once again dodged his punches, but not seconds later, the kunai began skimming her skin. She then became distracted and Takeshi landed a strong kick, pushing her right into the last kunai. He instantly panicked as he rushed to her aid. However, before he could reach her, a log appeared in her place.

Takeshi jerked around as quickly as he could, but was greeted sharply with a finger poke to his forehead. "Too slow, little brother!" He was quick to rub the agitated area as he laughed. "That was actually a decent move though." She grinned as she rubbed his hair.

"Not like it matters. You didn't even use your sharingan and I still didn't land a single hit." He became a little more somber as he contemplated his inner frustration.

Hitomi looked at him with a more serious face. "Do you want to learn a new jutsu? It would only take a minute with your sharingan."

Takeshi brightened up as he faced her once more. "No thanks!"

Hitomi was shocked, but sighed in relief. "I see." She began to grin again. "I'm glad you are growing into the man you are. The sharingan should be your trump card, not your handicap. Use it only when you need to." He blushed a little, but recovered his concern face.

"But you wouldn't have broken your arm if you had your sharingan activated."

She nervously laughed and rubbed her head. "Actually, I broke my arm when I hit my squad leader. He's my friend, but his perviness will get him killed one day." Takeshi felt sweat trickle down his neck. She lifted a finger to her lower lip in thought. "I almost feel bad breaking some of his ribs, since he healed my arm right up."

He pocketed his hands closing one eye and half looking away. "So I guess you and Isami are getting closer then?"

Hitomi narrowed her eyes. "Nothing will ever happen with a pervert like that!" She then grew a mischievous smile. "Did something more happen in the cave with Yuuki-chan, little brother?"

He instantly turned away from her with a flushed face. "N-no, as if…" he couldn't see why he was so flustered, but he just tensed his shoulders and avoided eye contact. For some reason, his heart raced and a nervous sweat ensued.

She laughed as she further teased him, now hugging him. "AH! Kids are moving so fast now-a-days! I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt!" Takeshi's jaw dropped as his whole body turned red. He couldn't bring himself to move a muscle. Surely, he had found his way into hell. A rescuing voice interrupted the fun.

"Hitomi! Quit teasing the kid." Sakura Yelled from the door. "You're not giving me grandchildren until you're thirty, Takeshi!" He didn't know what was more embarrassing, the fact that she heard or the fact that she made it even more awkward. "I have to be going. Dinner is ready, just don't destroy everything Hitomi." Hitomi responded with a simple wave off as their mother left.

"I second that." A voice came from the tree as a figure leapt down. "Don't take your training for granted, Takeshi. You're doing quite well. Remember: The sharingan is not something just any foe should get to see. Once you've mastered it, there is no reason to over use it." Sasuke made his way over and placed his hands on his children. "I had to learn that the hard way, but it looks like you two are far wiser than I ever was. I just wanted to tell you both how proud I am of you. I don't recall saying it enough." He gave them a rare smile as he followed suit with Sakura. That wasn't something either of knew how to respond to.

The feeling welled up in both of them, Takeshi forgetting his previous embarrassment. After a couple moments, Hitomi spoke her mind. "I wonder if dad's been drinking." They both couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, but they knew their cold and calculating father couldn't possibly be the drinking type.

OoOoOoOo

"Let's do this!" Sasuke lined up a shot and challenged Naruto. It was a typical drinking competition between the two, but Sasuke was always the one who started it. They quickly gulped their drink and fought over who finished first.

"Would you act like adults already? We have things to discuss before you two drink each other under the table!" Sakura was quick to snap at them. She began rubbing her immensely large forehead in frustration. Over time, the drinking competition between the two escalated to dangerous points. They both sulked, pointing the finger at one another. Hinata rolled her eyes only to find Sai, Karin, and Kiba approach. Before she could even greet them, Naruto jumped up at them.

"Yo! It's about time you three showed up!" He quickly scanned around. "I take it Kohada was too busy to make it, Kiba?" He nodded.

"Well, seeing as we're going to be talking about shinobi issues, I figured she shouldn't be caught up in the confusion." He sniffed a couple times. "Or so I assumed we were going to talk business. You've had 3 shots already? What kind of Hokage are you?" Naruto rubbed his head with a grin.

"I suppose he'll never learn. Both of you are hopeless!" Karin pointed her fingers to Sasuke and Naruto. "Let's pray the others show up before we have to carry them home." She walked over and sat next to Hinata and Sakura.

"Maybe it's good to lighten up every once in a while. You shouldn't give them such a hard time." Sai came to their defense, but quickly dropped his smile when he saw Karin's glare. "Anyways, who else are we waiting on?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, Kakashi, Shikimaru, Neji, and I think Ino. Lee came too early and had to be escorted home. And I believe Konohamaru had something come up." His eyes narrowed as if something bothered him. "Nah, I think that's everyone."

OoOoOoOo

Shino Sneezed as his nightly walk was interrupted by a troubling thought. He shrugged, deciding it was probably nothing.

OoOoOoOo

Kiba attempted to sniff past the stench of alcohol to search for the stragglers. "Looks like we've got more." He pointed off to the side straight at a group of five. Ino, Ten-Ten and Temari were in front and lagging behind were Neji and Shikamaru. Kiba sighed at the group's size. "Of course Kakashi isn't with them…"

"Hey Naruto!" Ino waved with a smile. "Sorry Choji had something to do." She pouted a little. "He wouldn't tell me what it was."

"That's fine, really!" Naruto looked over to Neji and Ten-Ten. "Glad to see you two could make it on short notice. How's your boy?" Naruto held his hand out to greet him.

Neji shook his hand and smirked. "Just as you'd imagine. He overworks himself and gets stronger by the day." He looked over to Ten-Ten. "He's getting to be a bit too dangerous with ninja tools I'd say." Ten-Ten let out a nervous laugh as she followed Ino and Temari to the other girls.

Shikamaru sighed as he walked up closer to Naruto. "Between my daughter and my wife, I can barely cut a break. At least I've got two more guys to back me up on occasion." He grew more serious and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "How's your daughter holding up?"

Naruto held a bright expression. "She's more stubborn than I was. Hinata talked to her, but apparently she's accepting it easier than I expected." He exhaled sharply. "This isn't something she'll completely understand, but she's still as upbeat as ever."

Shikamaru padded him on the shoulder a little as they all took their seats. Sasuke sat impatiently at the extensive reunions, but occasionally joined in on the chatter. After a couple minutes, Naruto sighed and decided to begin. "Alright, let's get business out of the way so we can catch up later."

Naruto went to stand but a hand held his shoulder down. "As eager to start as always. Observe!" His old sensei strummed the strings above his head. As if a signal, the burst into flames and revealed an intricate network of more strings. A small explosion appeared into the table as sparking letters lit up above the the culprit.

"The life of the party has arrived! Hatake Anko!" To both of their disappointment, everyone just pointed and angrily reminded them they were late.

"I know you two probably worked on that for a while, but did you really think any of us didn't notice? That's why I said let's start." Naruto's words seemed to send the couple into a depression. They had been choreographing all day for that moment. "Anyways, I'll let Shikamaru explain everything. He's better at these things."

Shikamaru groaned as he got comfortable. "Troublesome as always. So, as you are aware, the forest and two children were attacked. The master mind behind this plot is a man named Guden. According to the reports and interrogations, he's a ring leader of a group called Hell's Phoenix. Their motives appear to be revenge against the Leaf and intentionally attacked Naruto's daughter and Sasuke's son." The group grew quite serious and several were saddened by the news. "He used many of his stronger members to act as a decoy so he could take out the children. We have confirmed that he was slated to attack the village directly in three years, but noticed the children's patterns and acted accordingly. This is a man with several side plans and back-up plans, and he is a lava user. That means he can use fire, wind, and earth." Kakashi raised an eyebrow to this. "However, with his attitude towards Naruto and Sasuke, we can anticipate his attack to come on schedule."

Kiba was quick to ask what everyone was concerned about. "Just how do you know he won't attack sooner? It won't be safe to send our children on missions based off assumptions."

Shikamaru remained neutral in expression. "Like I said, this is a man who was intending on attacking us in three years. He has been plotting his revenge for quite some time now, but due to his recent plan catastrophically failing, he will not have the resources to attack on time. Conversely, he was not desperate in his words with Naruto. Therefore, we have agreed that it will likely be in three years or later." Karen was next to attempt to voice her concern, but Shikamaru continued. "The last thing we need to do is terrify the children and scare the civilians. Missions will continue as normal, but inexperienced ninja will have ANBU carefully protecting them from the shadows. Are there any questions?"

Neji took him up on his curiosity. "Is there a chance we're over-hyping this whole thing. He's sly, but does he really have the power to attack us directly?"

Naruto quickly responded, "We have no choice but to believe so. If we find their hideout, we will request the nearest countries aid and crush them. All we can do for now is prepare." The answer seemed acceptable for the time being. Naruto smiled. "It's been a hard time recently, let's loosen up a little. We've got some rough waters ahead." He toasted to his old friends, stomping on Sasuke's foot so he couldn't finish his drink first.

The women began catching up with one another. It was same old same old. Karin complained about her daughter's lack of personality, blaming Sai. Ten-Ten loved playing with her son, even if others felt 'playing' was too soft a word for it. Hinata had nothing but great things to say for her kids, despite her son's…affectionate personality. Temari was happy with her two boys for not being lazy morons, but even they had their 'troublesome' moments. Sakura updated them on how great Takeshi was and the latest drama with her daughter. This always pushed Ino into a fit, claiming Sakura's problems couldn't hold a candle to her teenage twins. This lead to a typical silence in the group as they quietly sipped their drinks.

The guys never said a great deal. It consisted of watching Naruto and Sasuke get into a drinking contest. "Well, I'm headed home early. Kohada is probably worried." Kiba stood and took one final shot, but immediately showed his disgust. The alcohol stung his nose every time.

"Isami told me to tell you to tell Kochi he said hi." Naruto paused trying to piece back his previous sentence to no avail.

"It's scaring me their getting along." Kiba showed his concern for his daughter's sanity, knowing all too well how Isami was. He opted to shake those feelings off. "I'm sure it's just a friendly greeting though, so why not."

Neji, Ten-ten, Shikamaru and Temari were the next to drop out. Naruto made his best attempt to see them off, but he soon tripped and remained there for a moment. The group just slowly turned and left while they could.

"Guess it's down to team seven, huh?" Kakashi smiled through his mask. "And of course the lovely ladies who became a part of our family."

Sasuke sighed as heard the comment. "You really have to be an old geezer about everything?" However, he held an uncharacteristic smile. "Is what I'd like to say, but it's true." It was as if a drunken confession was slipping out. Over the years he had truly seen what family could do to a man. "I think about where I would be if Naruto hadn't beaten the shit out of me…" He swirled his drink around before finishing it. "But all I can see is death." Naruto was nodding as he listened quite intently. "All I can do now is guarantee no one else goes through that self-destructing cycle."

Sakura chuckled at his confession. "I remember you practically begging me for a date without saying the word date. You just wouldn't let me go after I healed you up." He hid his face as Naruto slid him a drink.

"I don't see why everyone overthinks life like you guys did. All you need to do is work hard and be happy." Naruto let another mouthful slide down.

"It's easier when you start out with emotions." Sai added as he showed a true smile across his face. "Karin was really the one who showed me all of them." She blushed a little as she pushed up her glasses. "Speaking of which, we have to go. We need to do this more often than once a month." Sai left some money as he grabbed Karin and made their way into the distance. It was really shocking how Sai and Karin attracted each other so much, but not a single person could deny their love. Naruto grinned now as a thought came to him.

"Shadow clone shots!" He began lining up several shots as Sasuke began slapping himself awake. "Who's in?" Sakura and Hinata both stuck their tongues out and gestured a clear no. "Well, I guess it's just us then. We all now the old couple can't handle anymore." Kakashi facepalmed.

"Now wait just a second! We're not that much older than you!" Kakashi went to pull her away but she pushed him off. "Count me in!"

Naruto grew a mischievous smile. "It's simple: All you have to do is make five shadow clones and bottoms up! Then just release the jutsu." She made her clones as she gave them a confident smile. Glasses clanked high in the air as they prepared. "Here's to not remembering tonight!" They quickly raced down the drinks, Anko making it a point to finish first.

She slammed the glasses down and released the jutsu. "Haha, who's the old one n-" Her heart began beating faster as her eyes widened. Suddenly, time slowed as her vision was smeared by the uncontrollable sway of her head. Her blinks became longer as sounds became muffled. Finally, she mustered the strength to attempt a step.

Kakashi caught her as she went out cold. "That's my cue to call it a night." He glared at them. "I appreciate you drinking my wife into a drunken coma, but next time, maybe just do normal shots." He readied himself to take off. "Take it easy, Hokage."

With that he was gone in a flash. Hinata tried to give Naruto a guilt trip about what he'd done. "Was that necessary? Everyone knows she can barely handle liquor better than Lee." Naruto exhaled trying to focus, but he leaned to far back and fell out of his chair.

Sasuke snapped back into reality and saw his friend lying on the floor. "You're not drunk are you? Scaredy cat!" He proceeded to laugh himself out of the chair. Both Hinata and Sakura put their foot down.

"We're done here!" Naruto shot up completely sober now.

"Aww, I was just getting started!" He looked over and saw Sasuke out cold. "Well, I guess he doesn't have clones to diffuse some of his BAC. I'm surprised he lasted this long."

Sakura picked her husband up and glared at Naruto. "Don't tell him about this. I don't think any man's ego could handle it. Have a good night Hinata. Good luck with your 'boy'". As Sakura left, Hinata put her hands on her hips and stared him in the eyes. Naruto grinned acting like he had no clue what he did.

OoOoOoOo

The day started like any other for Yuuki. She rolled out of bed and got ready for a long day of training. The smell of breakfast brought her to the kitchen to find her father rubbing his head and her mother casually lecturing him. "Good morning!" Naruto cringed a little, but they both returned the friendly greeting. "You over did it again, didn't you?" She knew her father liked to drink on these occasions, but this was the result every time. It was more annoying to her than anything.

"It was a long night, Yuuki. We were getting a lot of boring speeches and had tedious planning to do." She glared at him while taking a seat. "Don't worry, I'll be up and running in no time!"

"So you didn't have any alcohol at all?" He smiled to her, hoping she wouldn't press the issue. "I hate when you lie to me. I'm glad you never consider that when you do those 'meetings'." Yuuki's cold attitude struck Naruto worse than his hangover.

Hinata put food in front of them. "I'll admit he goes overboard still, but it's not something we get to do often. It's the few times we get to see the friends we grew up with." Yuuki shrugged, still upset with her father's irresponsible behavior. "To make it up to you, I'll help you train today after your father leaves to his office." Yuuki felt very relieved to hear that as she proceeded to eat. She had never really seen her mother actually fight before, so it would be interesting to see what she knew.

The Hokage gave his wife a tender kiss as he took his leave. Yuuki waved him off and went outside to warm up. Not long after her mother casually walked out, ready to see what her daughter could do. "Are you ready? I don't want you to hold back just because I'm your mother."

Yuuki smirked as she took her stance. "I know better. Just don't take me so lightly." Hinata got in a relaxed defensive stance. Yuuki wasted no time to rush at her in excitement. She led with a couple swift jabs, but they were easily dodged. Yuuki attempted a palm thrust to her chest, but in an instant, her mother gracefully spun around it. She gave her used her hip to nudge her daughter. "Holding back much?"

"Just checking." Yuuki activated her byakugan now and spun back into the fray. This time her attacks were much more precise. After a series of swings, she launched a right hook and followed it by dipping into a leg sweep. Although it was a good combo, Hinata was able to effortlessly dodge every move. "Not even using byakugan I see. I wonder if I'll even land a hit at this rate." Hinata chuckled as Yuuki began to use subtle variations of the same combo. After the third leg sweep, she simultaneously made three clones. They instantly began a vicious onslaught of combinations. Their tempo worked quite well with each other as Hinata was forced to begin parrying some blows. Finally, they tried for a combined team strike. The clone to Hinata's right performed a leg sweep, the left a right hook, the rear went for a palm thrust, and Yuuki herself threw a downward right jab. Barely devising a plan in time, Hinata reacted masterfully: Her right hand pinned the right clone's leg, her right leg parried the rear clone's jab upward, her left leg caught the left clone's hook between the elbow, and she used her left arm to deflect Yuuki's arm down. Then, Hinata pushed off the right clone's leg and flipped out of the dangerous area.

"I see you take after your father." Yuuki smiled as she dispersed the clones and showed some thought. "And you're catching on to their advantages?" Hinata brushed some hair out of her way and activated her byakugan. "I think it's time we take this up another notch!" Yuuki was anticipating that moment the entire fight, but seeing what her mother was capable of was already impressive enough. As she gazed into Hinata's eyes, chills ran down her spine and excitement overwhelmed her. This was going to be the most intense spar of her life.

(Final words)

There you have it. I ended up saving some content for next chapter, knowing it was a bit long for a single chapter. Yes, Anko survived in the 4th war, and just guess who her knight in shining armor was? The pairings may seem odd in some cases, canon in others. Believe me when I say I have already made mental one shots for each.

Btw, Kohada technically _is_ canon. No, she's not a shinobi. She was one of the main victims of Jiraiya's "research" after the 3rd's funeral. Look her up on , her daughter looks fairly similar to that (with clothes, perverts 0_O)

The pace is slowly moving faster. Action and more action comes next chapter, but I only have a few days before I transfer commands, so hopefully I can properly crank out another chapter by then.


	5. Growing Buds

-Hokage's note-

This generation is lacking true hatred and angst. How nice it is to be oblivious to what the real world is capable of. Regardless, the only thing they can do now is become stronger. I can't help but think it's the next generation that must handle these matters. Besides, they have three whole years. ANBU will ensure their safety on missions, so nothing can go wrong. As long as my brother is around, I can rest easy. And then there's him…

**Chapter 5: Growing Buds**

Yuuki had been stretching for a solid ten minutes. When her mother said she wasn't going easy, she meant it. The sores ached at every tense muscle and all she could do is demand her body wake up. As her joints loosened, she proceeded to go to her living room. She found her dad in a deep thought. He put down his pen and tucked in his journal.

"Morning dad, what's the occasion?" He turned and smiled at his daughter, signaling her to sit. She shrugged and pulled a chair. "I'm guessing since breakfast isn't cooking, we're expecting company?"

"Indeed we are: only the best company!" Yuuki rolled her eyes at his early morning sprite. "Uncle Konohamaru is coming over, and he's bringing the family!" Yuuki's eyes widened as she was ready to protest.

"You and him are the worst combo!" She sunk her face in her hand. "Here I was hoping for a peaceful day, but now I have to help keep you two in check."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And you are too good for Kumi now? You two are just as mischievous of a combo!" She huffed at his accusation, but it wasn't far off. For the most recent years, they had upgraded from hide and seek to hide important documents and Konohamaru's cigarettes. She frankly enjoyed her nieces company: It was like the little sister she never had. Kumi was starting to excel in her classes to. Naruto broke her train of thought. "At least you can stop getting teased about you're byakugan now. It did take you a while to be able to use it." She shot him a killing look. "H-hey, that's not a bad thing! At least you learned to fight and get by without it. Now that you're bases are well built, you can flourish into a badass like you're brother!"

Yuuki thought about what her father said, but her face became even angrier when she thought about Isami. "Isami's an idiot! He finds every little thing and teases me with it. Besides there's nothing badass about being a pervert!"

"Objection!" Yuuki's fell out of her chair and looked up to the celling, finding the source to the loud disturbance. "92.7% of all pervert ninjas become badass! It's science!"

"Idiot! What kind of self respecti-" She was cut off as he seemed to lose his grip and fall on her. She braced for impact, but he disappeared in a cloud of white smoke before he hit. Her face was turning purple in anger as the front door swung open. "I'm going to kill him!" Konohamaru almost let his cigarette fall out of his mouth.

"Bad timing?" Anger turned to embarrassment as she looked away. A hand placed itself on her shoulder as its voice answered for her.

"Just a little family talk." Isami stood behind her and winked, signaling the 'be good' plan. She smirked.

"Right, we just like to vent frustration every once in a while. I couldn't ask for a better brother to have." Her uncle smiled. "Oh, and don't forget to put out the cigarette before you come in."

"Oh, of course. I forget it's there sometimes." He looked down and smothered it out on his shoe. Yuuki took this time to swiftly raise her heel into her brother's crotch. Isami let out a subtle whimper. His legs wobbled and tears rolled out of his eyes as he attempted to hold his smile.

"Well at least let my sister in the door! She's carrying groceries!" Konohamaru quickly shifted out of the way at his wife's command. She was the kind of person that only asked nicely once.

"It's not a problem Hanabi, but thanks anyways." Hinata moved in and set her ingredients on the table. It'll be about an hour before we get dinner up and running, so feel free to get comfortable." Naruto greeted his brother-in-law with a grin and a handshake. They sat down and had little trouble finding things to catch up on.

"Let me help you with the cooking then. I imagine the boys don't have interesting topics to discuss." She turned to her daughter. "Yuuki became a ninja, Kumi. I'll bet she knows all sorts of cool things now." Her daughter's eyes lit up and she immediately ran to greet her favorite cousin. Isami decided it was time for him to join in on the men's discussion.

"Hey Kumi! How's the academy treating you?" Yuuki wrapped her arm around her as they headed outside.

"Same old. You're so lucky to have a headband. I wish I could just skip two years and be done with it already." Once they near the river, Kumi's mischievous side came out. "So what are we going to do this time? I was thinking we should first distract them by flipping all the furniture, then-" Yuuki cut her off.

"Or I could show you some cool ninja stuff." Kumi looked at her cousin and couldn't help but snicker.

"No offense, but I don't need the answers to a history exam. What do you know that I don't?"

"How about this?" The voice was Yuuki's, but it came from behind Kumi. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Yuuki and her clone started laughing hysterically. Kumi composed herself and gave the two a quick check over. She sighed, clearly unimpressed.

"I know how to do a simple clone jutsu. It's so basic, Yuuki."

She held a smirk. "Oh?" The clone fish hooked Kumi's mouth as Yuuki started poking her in the forehead. Kumi swatted at the two of them and jumped back, very confused. "Can a simple clone do that? I'm sure you already know how to do this then." Kumi re-examined the two, even poking them to make sure she wasn't imagining things. Both of them seemed to be her cousin.

"Okay, you got me. What is this jutsu?" Yuuki put up a single hand seal and grinned. Kumi got in a defensive stance and observed carefully. "At least I can use my byakugan."

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" A group of ten Yuuki's appeared in a cloud of smoke. Kumi's jaw dropped at the sight of such a jutsu. She activated her young byakugan to see that every single 'Yuuki' had chakra. "These are shadow clones. They have physical matter behind them, can use jutsu's, and they can think for themselves. My dad taught me a couple weeks ago. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Wow! That's so awesome!" Yuuki rubbed her nose and almost forgot about her byakugan. She opted to activate it along with several of her clones. Kumi's jaw dropped once again. "You finally unlocked byakugan to? I never knew you were this cool!" Kumi gave a brief moment of consideration before nodding. "You have to teach me this! I'll do whatever you need me to do." She extended her hand. "I formally accept you as the boss."

They shared a devious grin as Yuuki accepted the hand shake. God only knows what they could accomplish with shadow clones.

OoOoOoOo

A scent carrying a potpourri of ingredients was carried in the steam from the kitchen. While it could make any lesser man's mouth salivate, the men were not fazed by it. The conversation had taken a more serious tone once Yuuki and Kumi went outside. It was a matter concerning her, but she was not allowed to know about it.

"So let me get this straight." Isami put his drink down and crossed his arms. "You want me to stalk this team without anyone knowing but their sensei, who won't know about me? Is someone stalking me while I do this?" Naruto went to answer, but Isami had one more thing to add. "Can it be Hitomi? A little role reversal is nice sometimes." His mind started wondering again. Konohamaru slapped him back into reality.

"No, what he's saying is you are to recon the area for any missions concerning the team while they remain inexperienced. You only have to do this while the team is out of the country." Konohamaru turned to Naruto. "Are you sure you want me to be her sensei? She's not going to pick on me every day, is she?"

Naruto sipped his drink. "We know what we know. You're the strongest we have and they're the only targets thus far. It works out. This Guden man won't risk an attack on our teams with this kind of security. Besides, it brings back memories. I think I'll have Isami be Kumi's sensei later on."

Konohamaru's eyes widened a little as he looked at Isami. He was attempting to balance his drink on his nose. "I have a great deal of knowledge that everyone should be aware of. It only makes sense." His talking almost tipped the glass over, but he saved it by focusing chakra in his nose. Konohamaru mind raced as he went through the possible scenarios for his daughter. All of them made him shiver for the future. Isami finally put his glass down and smiled. "It's been fun, but there's something important I have to do today."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I don't remember having anything important needing done." He thought about it. "Actually, where have you been going the past few days?" Isami just stood and put his wolf mask on.

"I'm running errands for someone out of personal preference. Don't worry, we always eat somewhere before the events. I'll be back in the immediate future. By the way, I think it's about time I find a place of my own to stay." He vanished in a swarm of leaves; leaves that made a mess of the living room.

"You only put the mask on for ANBU missions Isami!" Naruto moped in his chair as Konohamaru started picking up the mess he left. "I wonder who this 'someone' is. What's the whole event thing he was talking about? When did he decide he was going to move out?" Naruto started scratching his head, not able to make any sense of his son. Then again, he never really could. Konohamaru made him snap out of thought and hold a trash bag. "Oh yeah, he made a mess again! I should go find him and make him clean this for once!"

Konohamaru tied the bag up. "I'll take it out. I was about to check on those two anyways. Who knows what they could have hidden in this amount of time."

Hanabi's head swung around. "You mean you're going to go smoke again, right? Make yourself useful and tell them lunch is ready." He grunted, throwing the trash over his shoulder and waving her off.

As he ventured to the back, he was surprised to find both the kids doing something productive. He hid near the trash can and observed what they had been up to. Yuuki was explaining something with great enthusiasm that held kumi's attention undivided.

"Well, I could explain the science of it all day, but now you know more of the basics. Just try to imagine taking a chunk of your chakra and what you want that chakra to mold into." Kumi held a critical thinking pose, considering the information carefully. Yuuki tapped her foot, feeling a sense of anticipation. "Come on! Don't give it so much thought, just try doing it naturally."

Kumi nodded, showing determination and a hint of nervousness. This time she wouldn't disappoint her boss. She formed her hands up and exhaled. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" A loud poof joined in and Kumi kept her eyes shut. "Oh please, tell me I did it this time." She slowly opened one eye and saw herself holding up the victory hand sign. "Whoa, I actually did it!" She started prodding the clone who swatted her fingers at every following attempt. Yuuki stood in a proud pose. "I feel kind of tired now though."

"That's because it took up a lot of chakra." A smoke trail approached them as Kumi's father smiled. "I see you take after yours truly. It reminds me of when I was young. I was going to teach you that jutsu in a couple years, but I guess it works out just as well."

Kumi rolled her eyes. "Dad, is there a reason you're trying to act all cool? We're kind of busy here." The wind was swept out of Konohamaru's sails as he hung his head.

"So cruel!" They both just stared blankly at him. "Fine! I guess you didn't want to know lunch is ready!" He turned away when their expressions instantly beamed with life. A tear came out as he walked away. "Now the smoke's in my eye…"

As he left Yuuki casually back handed Kumi's shoulder. "No sense in killing yourself with that technique. Next time I'll show you the latest and greatest of my arsenal!" Kumi dismissed the clone with a look of shock.

"No way boss! You already have a trump move? You're not bluffing?" Yuuki gave grinning wink as she started running back into the house. "She's zipping through this stuff like it's nothing! When did she get so much motivation?" She looked to her fist and clinched it. "That's why she's my boss! Guess it's time to move on from the pranks." Kumi ran in pursuit of her leader. "What a cool cousin. Well, cooler than Nagi anyways!"

OoOoOoOo

After a couple hours passed, the family began parting ways. Konohamaru turned to Yuuki and smiled. "Don't go overboard today. You've got a pretty important day tomorrow." She waved him and the family off as they made their way down the road. Once it quieted down, Naruto began gathering his things to prepare to catch up on some paperwork. Yuuki had a thought jolt into her head.

"Hey dad, who's on my team? I know you're the one organizing them." He showed an annoyed face.

"You'll find out tomorrow. Just because I'm your father doesn't mean I can break tradition." She gave him a crossed arm puppy dog face. He rolled his eyes at this. "Quit complaining! If it's any consolation, the teams gonna be badass." Her eyes flickered at that.

"Can I go over to Takeshi's house today?" He snapped his head back to her, but this time she had the saddest, most innocent face he'd seen.

He grunted. "Oh, give me a break! You're still grounded!" She didn't back down even a little. He sunk his head, feeling the defeat. "Fine, but don't say I never did anything cool for you." She practically vanished before he could finish his sentence. After an extended pause, he followed, "Hurry and leave before I change my…" Naruto turned to realize only Hinata left, laughing at him. His jaw dropped at the audacity of his daughter. "Damn teenagers!"

"What's this? The legendary sixth Hokage was defeated by a young girl?" Naruto felt his pride being pulled from under him. "I think it's a fair trade though. Those two are way closer than Isami and Hitomi ever were."

Naruto scoffed as he kissed her goodbye. "I'm leaving before I get chastised any further! Make sure Isami gets back at a decent hour. I think he's pretty suspicious lately." It was then when he noticed how quiet things were. Suddenly, he swept her into his arms, making her giggle in excitement. This time he gave her a longer kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. Once he pulled away, he gave her a foxy grin. "Don't say I never did anything cool for you either!"

Hinata rubbed his face. "Oh honey…" Her fingers pinched his face as she smiled back. "You need to work on those cliché lines a little more." They shared a brief laugh as she rested her hand on his chest. "It's a shame you're so busy on days like this." His hand drifted lower and firmly grasped her inner thigh. Her eyes jumped along with her body as she blushed.

"Who knows…I might put work on hold for a bit." They shared a stare, and felt the passion swiftly build. Finally, their lips locked in an inseparable kiss.

OoOLoLOoOo

Yuuki quickly crossed the street and pounded on the door. Sakura answered and greeted her. "Hello Yuuki. Looking for Takeshi?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Well come on in. He's outside with Hitomi. They're about to start sparring and training soon." Yuuki navigated through the living room and into the backyard.

The two siblings were in the process of stretching when Yuuki interrupted. "Takeshi, what's up!" She ran up to him as he turned in surprise.

"Yuuki? I thought you were grounded until tomorrow." She laughed as she rubbed her head. "I see. So you talked down your punishment again." An awkward silence built between the two. Takeshi was trying to break the ice. "So…do you want to have a quick match?" Hitomi facepalmed at her brother. He was still too naïve, but it wasn't her business.

"Actually, how about you two team up and spar against me?" Hitomi helped her brother out a little.

"What? That may be a little too difficult." Yuuki crossed her arms and contemplated the idea. "But if it's me and Takeshi, there's no way we can lose. Right Takeshi?"

Takeshi sweated a little and smiled. "R-Right!" Yuuki tilted her head in confusion of his behavior. "Let's get started then." He avoided her eyes for some reason. It didn't make since why, but he couldn't stop acting strange. He let out a nervous laugh.

Without warning, Hitomi kicked her brother back into the fight. "Come on already! You said we started." Yuuki dipped low for a rotating kick, but Hitomi just leapt back. Takeshi got back up, wondering why his sister attacked so suddenly.

"Takeshi, quit day-dreaming! I need your help!" He had a quick flashback to that day he saw her die. In no time at all, he was right beside her. "Tell me all about it when we're done. Right now, I want to see if you've been falling behind."

Takeshi reached for a kunai. "Don't get arrogant. Just try to keep up with me." Yuuki grinned as she readied herself. He charged his sister, tossing the kunai at her left leg. Yuuki was quick to follow through with a kunai to Hitomi's right side. She escaped by jumping upwards and spinning. Takeshi was there to greet her with a taijutsu assault. Yuuki couldn't help but notice Takeshi had become faster and his taijutsu was more deadly. While no hits were making contact, it gave her time to create shadow clones and get her byakugan running.

Takeshi pushed off of her blocking arm and waited to synchronize an attack with Yuuki, but two clones were already in full swing. Hitomi saw them approach from either side. She flipped over one's leg sweep and grabbed the other's round house kick, continuing the flip to safety.

Yuuki pulled Takeshi aside and whispered her idea. "Those are clones I can dispel at any time, Takeshi. I would use your fireball jutsu while she's distracted with them." He looked back and gave a subtle nod. The clones were giving Hitomi a tougher time than he ever could. It was two versus one, and they could clearly see what her movements leaned towards.

"Alright, but this alone won't be able to take her down. She's just toying with us right now." He formed his hand seals and waited for the best time.

"I come prepared for these situations anyways." Yuuki crossed her arms in pride. As her clones backed Hitomi near a large boulder, another clone jumped down. Hitomi was forced to begin parrying them, making sure to not allow their gentle fist connect. Right as she considered countering one to even the odds, all three dispersed in a cloud of white smoke.

_I see what they're thinking. Clever._ A massive fireball consumed the white smoke and smacked the giant boulder.

"Yuuki, was that a hit?" Takeshi turned to see Yuuki run by him. "Hmm?" He shook of his thoughts. "Wait a second, don't just charge in alone!" He drew a kunai and followed behind. Yuuki rolled by the tree Hitomi leaned against and got in her stance.

"Not bad you two. How about we get out of warm up phase then?" As Hitomi opened her eyes, Yuuki noted the deadly, yet beautiful eyes of the sharingan. Yuuki smirked, masking the chills and jitters she felt.

"Sharingan already? Trying to scare us?" Takeshi wrapped a kick around the tree as Yuuki swept in close for a palm thrust. Hitomi within a flash pinned Takeshi against the tree and held a kunai to both their throats.

"Not so much to scare as to protect. I wouldn't want to kill you two, now would I?" Yuuki couldn't find words with the shock. Her eyes couldn't predict that kind of concise speed. A cold sweat drifted down her neck. Hitomi snickered as she grabbed Takeshi and threw him into Yuuki. The collision made them slide ten meters away.

Yuuki grunted as she pushed herself up with her arms. "That was a bit much. Is this how you've been training Takeshi?" A hand appeared in front of her to her surprise. The tall figure was silhouetted by the afternoon sun.

"That's not even a tenth of what I've been taking. Let's hurry up and land a hit on her while she's still toying with us." She smiled as he helped her up. Takeshi was getting tougher to keep down already. Hitomi stopped twenty feet from them. They were in an open area surrounded by a forest line. She crossed her arms and smiled deviously.

"Whenever you two are ready to get serious, come at me. I won't move from this spot. I'll even buy you ramen if you land a hit!"

Yuuki searched her pouch. "You'll regret making that wager." She pulled out a smoke bomb and slammed it into the ground. She grabbed Takeshi and told him her new plan. A good two minutes passed and Hitomi narrowed her eyes, growing impatient. Suddenly, several clones ran out to the left and right: Three on either side. Once they had made a circle, they closed in and attempted to flank every possible point Hitomi had. As they were getting countered and destroyed, Takeshi emerged from the smoke and drew a kunai. As the last clone was defeated, he began an assault of his own, but his style was completely different and more fluent. Hitomi instantly made sure to watch out for gentle fist.

"Not a bad idea, Yuuki. You even picked up on his kunai charging habit." The clone smirked as it dispersed and left smoke in her face. She instantly jumped over the fireball that swept through. She landed to find Takeshi charging behind a Yuuki and another behind him in a single file line. Staying true to her word, Hitomi gained a slightly wider base waiting for the attack. Suddenly, the forward Yuuki face planted only a foot away, making Hitomi chuckle. Takeshi Jumped high over Hitomi to avoid trampling the clone. As Hitomi's eyes couldn't help but drift up, she felt a sting in her legs. Losing her focus, she glanced down, giving the rear clone the chance to land a solid shove. The anchoring of her ankles was enough to send her airborne. Now the blinding sun made it too difficult to spot Takeshi's kick as she was now lined up perfectly with his attack. He planted his foot into her chest and sent her to the ground.

Despite her hard fall, Hitomi just busted out laughing. "What kind of ridiculous attack was that?" Yuuki and Takeshi high-fived while laughing themselves. "The face plant was a maneuver I've never seen before, so you got me." Hitomi rolled up and brushed herself off. "What a strange way to land a hit. I guess I owe you two ramen." She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and exhaled. "I planned on letting you guys get a hit in regardless, but you really did quite well. Both of you will make Chunin in no time!"

OoOoOoOoOo

Yuuki slammed down her fourth bowl down as Takeshi and Hitomi winced at her. They finished their only bowl and Hitomi proceeded to bargain with Teuchi to get a discount as Takeshi and Yuuki walked out. "Takeshi, you've gotten pretty good with close-quarters combat, haven't you? And it looks like your chakra has increased significantly." Takeshi scratched the back of his head as he laughed lightly. He had grown stronger, but it paled in comparison to Yuuki's new strength.

"Hell, I don't even know if I'm the stronger of us now. You're quicker, more fluent, more concise, and using shadow clones like their nothing." He pocketed his hands. "I can probably only beat you in speed and durability now. It's amazing how far you've come in just a few days." Yuuki blushed at what she heard. She didn't really notice just how far she'd come herself.

"Don't forget her tactics in the fight. She never made a questionable move and your teamwork was flawless." Hitomi caught up to the conversation. "You two better be in the same team. Complete trust like that is hard to come by in a generation." They shared a smile as they came upon the Uchiha house. "You guys should try to do the land-a-hit challenge with Isami in a few months. It's a good next step to check your progress. But you two can rematch me anytime."

Yuuki glared at her a little. "What can my idiot brother do that you can't?"

Hitomi smiled and opened the door. "I used to think the same thing. Currently, he's probably on par with your father. If not, he is likely on par with my father." Yuuki's jaw dropped. "I don't think you really know how strong he is in every area. He doesn't try, but he's a pure genius. I may hate his type, but you have to respect him sooner or later." She eyed Takeshi and winked. "Weellll, see you inside Takeshi!"

She shut the door before he could escape. He regained his bearing and turned back to Yuuki. She was still in shock at her brother's apparent strength, but it didn't take her long to snap out of it. "Yuuki, once again you were completely unpredictable." She smiled and gave him a sudden hug. He was shocked as his arms barely touched her. Her skin was far softer than he figured.

She pulled away slowly. "I'm glad we got to see each other before tomorrow." He began to notice how cute her face was up close. He had to fight to maintain a normal eye contact. "No matter what happens, we'll be partners, right?" She waited intently for him to respond. She became confused when she saw his absent look, so she moved her face in closer to get a better look. His heart raced as he turned red. "Takeshi, you there?"

Her face was even closer. He decided to abort mission. "R-Right! Anytime you need me, I'll be right here. Oh, look at the time. We need to get some rest for tomorrow. See you later!"

Takeshi quickly disappeared before Yuuki could say anything. Her eyes saddened. "What's with him?" She curled her finger under her lip. "Did I upset him? Maybe he doesn't like how fast I'm growing…" She slowly turned and walked back to her house, looking back to his on occasion. "I hope it's nothing."

**-Authors note-**

Man, finally settled in to my next duty station. I apologize for anyone trying to follow the story. I'll be resuming work on it in between the writing of a piece that's very important to me. Basically, I'm shooting for weekly updates. There was talk and only a little action this chapter, but I still enjoyed it. I wanted to put some romantic depth in this chapter, and I think it will be nice to develop from here. I wonder who's going to be grouped with whom? Hmmm…Guess you'll just have to see next chapter.

Konohamaru & Hanabi: I like these two. Originally I was going to leave Kono alone, but this gives him a deeper connection to Naruto and Yuuki. He picked up smoking when he was old enough. Asuma was one of my favorite characters, and all the Sarutobis smoke, so that's me pretending to justify the habit.

Enough note-age. They will not be this long from here on. If you're curious about anyone or you have reasonable ideas, I'm willing to listen. Just don't be offended if I turn ideas down, as I have a solid plot line ready. If you have criticism, lay it down. It's very important to my future to get these feedbacks. Peace out people!


	6. Hard Work and Sacrifice

**Chapter 6: Hard Work and Sacrifice**

Takeshi awoke earlier than normal. The conflicts of his new found feelings towards Yuuki spun in his head. After several minutes of thinking, he finally admitted to himself that he liked her more than a friend should. _If I keep acting strange, she'll probably start questioning me. _He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. _I guess I just need to tell her when the time is right. For now, I should focus on getting stronger to protect her. I just need to tell myself I'm not worthy enough yet. _Satisfied with his temporary solution, Takeshi began preparing for the day ahead.

OoOoOoOo

"Dad, this is the last time I'll bug you for smoke bombs. I'll buy my own when I go on missions. Please!" Naruto contemplated for a moment and reluctantly agreed.

"I'll give you three this time. I know I don't need to emphasize using bombs wisely. The expense can add up for the fresh genin pay." He smiled as he handed them to her. "Why do you need them today though?"

"Didn't Isami go through a trial when he was assigned to his team?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or is there something different planned for our team that you'd like to share?"

Naruto sweated a little. "Nothing inherently important. You should go before you're late." He sealed his lips. Yuuki rolled her eyes and left quickly.

"Just get some cool missions lined up for me and my team. We'll be chunin before you know it." She slammed the door and was on her way towards becoming a true ninja. Naruto was proud to be watching his youngest child growing up so quickly.

OoOoOoOo

Iruka had been going on for what felt like ages. Yuuki had sat next to Takeshi, and Noriko sat on the other side of him. Tension was high between them as usual. After a while of glaring, Iruka moved on to team assignments. "Team five will consist of Nagi, Kobi and Shito." The three just looked at each other and shrugged.

"Hey dry eyes, don't get upset when I'm on the team you've wanted for so long."

Yuuki resumed her intimidating gaze at Noriko. "Please, the only one who is going to be let down is the one with the inflated ego."

Noriko smirked. "Then it's as I said. Redundancy isn't a suitable tactic for your rebuttal."

"Next is Team Seven: Takeshi…" Both Yuuki and Noriko silenced. "Yuuki…" She presented Noriko with a tongue out, clearly agitating the young girl. "And Noriko." Yuuki clamped down on her tongue. She was more pissed off at her father than anything. A look from Iruka told her to wait until he was finished assigning teams. Her rage began to bottle up. "Team Eight will be Inora, Chojiko, and Shikamira."

Takeshi turned to Yuuki. "Try to keep your cool. It's not the end of the world."

"Dry eyes, you were right; now I have to make sure you don't get us killed. This is pretty upsetting." Yuuki felt a quaking rage ringing through her head. Iruka had finished and Yuuki wasted no time in throwing in her two cents.

"Iruka-sensei, why is this _thing_ on my team. It could have been anyone, and I mean anyone else!"

Iruka couldn't help but feel nostalgia. With all of the experience he'd had with these kind of students, he went with the beating around the bush maneuver. "Why are you referring to Takeshi as a thing? That's a terrible way to treat your comrade." The class began to laugh at her as she facepalmed. Everyone was quite aware of the rivalry between Noriko and Yuuki.

"You know I was talking about her." Yuuki jabbed into a point at the source of her anger. "Give me an explanation!" Yuuki continued to point at Noriko and waited for the reasoning. Takeshi just sank a bit lower in his seat.

Iruka sighed. "I think it's up to your sensei to give you a formal explanation, but I can't say that your team makes sense." Yuuki was blatantly not impressed with his explanation. "Complaining isn't going to change these teams. To everyone else: You know where you need to go, so you may go anytime. Dismissed." Iruka made a swift exit, along with the remainder of the room. Yuuki fell back in her seat in defeat.

"Where are we supposed to go to meet our sensei?" She decided to give her sensei an earful instead.

"Right here! We don't even need to move." Takeshi attempted to brighten the atmosphere, but it was mostly in vein. Both girls sat eyes closed and arms crossed.

After an uncomfortable thirty minutes passed, Takeshi's eyes swept between the two. He sighed, not knowing if he could say anything right. "How long are you two planning on not talking? Can't you just accept it and move on?" He was answered with a double teaming glare that made him sit back and keep quite.

"As long as 'dry eyes' doesn't get in my way, we should be able to make it. I'm more than good enough to pick up her slack." The fury began raging around Takeshi.

Yuuki slammed the desk and snapped up. "What the hell is your problem? You don't know anything about me or Takeshi for that matter. We've surpassed you and your petty thinking. The reason you piss me off is your lack of any likable qualities. You always stoop lower and lower just to try to emphasize a false superiority. That's why you don't have friends. Grow up already, ignorant b-…" Takeshi grabbed Yuuki's arm to prevent a disaster. For even the slightest of moments, Noriko held a face of shock and a hint of a tear. Yuuki ripped her arm loose and turned away.

"You want to put your money where your mouth is…" Yuuki's interest was piqued. "After we finish with sensei, we'll have a match. I'll make you eat those words." Noriko wasn't playing around. She stood up and locked eyes. Takeshi was prepared to step between them.

"My money's on Noriko." The foreign voice caught everyone off guard. They looked for the source, but struggled to pin-point it. Finally they glanced up to find Konohamaru sitting cross-legged on the celling. "Yo!"

They couldn't help but kick back a few seats in shock. Yuuki was the first to challenge him. "Uncle Konohamaru, what the hell are you doing here?" He flipped down and landed in front of her.

"That's Konohamaru-sensei to you!" Her jaw dropped yet again. "Good afternoon, team 7! I'm your supervising jonin. Before I answer any questions, meet me on the roof in five minutes sharp." With that, he was gone in a flash.

Noriko turned to Yuuki. "What the hell is that? Your uncle is our sensei? And why do we have to go outside when he was damn near an hour late?" Yuuki displayed her irked side further, more about her uncle than Noriko this time.

"Hell if I know! I'm just as annoyed as you. As to why we're meeting outside, I have a few hunches." Yuuki noticed Takeshi was impartial on the situation. "You don't seem bothered by this. What do you think?"

Takeshi put his hands in his pockets. "Well, he's a powerful ninja. He does have his flaws, but that shouldn't matter right now. We only have a couple minutes to get to the roof. I suggest we ask questions later." The girls shrugged in agreement for once and they made their way upstairs.

OoOoOoOo

"What's this? You're four seconds late! Not a good first impression at all." He inhaled the rest of his cigarette and flicked it away. "Regardless, I would like formal introductions from all of you. Just likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future. I don't give two shits about your hobbies, so don't bother." Smoke had poured out into their faces, irritating tears out of their eyes. He held a confused look. "Crying already? You won't last day acting so soft.

Takeshi was the first to speak out after waving the smoke clear. "With all due respect sensei, shouldn't you go first?"

"Ah, of course." He cleared his throat. "I am Sarutobi Konohamaru. I like smoking, dislike formalities, and I've already achieved my dreams. Expanding more on the formalities part, all I ask is you respect each other and at least be formal this one time. Easy enough, right?" He shifted his eyes to Yuuki. "You first, young lady."

She gave him a glare, but complied. "I'm Uzumaki Yuuki. I like ramen the most, I dislike arrogant people with no emotions, and my current dream is to become stronger than my brother. I don't want his ego to swell too high." Konohamaru was at least happy to see she wasn't fawning over any boys yet. He already saw her drive.

"Alright, good enough. You're next, chivalry boy." He pointed to Takeshi, whose face showed a hint of annoyance.

"My name is Uchiha Takeshi. I like…" He hesitated a little. "Helping others, I dislike the thought of being useless, and I have something sort of an ambition rather than a dream: to become strong enough to protect the ones I care for, no matter what." His eyes were locked with his sensei. Konohamaru smiled a little. _It seems the Uchiha really have taken a turn for the better. Do I sense a bit of lust from him?_ He looked over Takeshi and Yuuki. _So these two really managed to survive assassination. Must be tough for them to remain unscarred._

"Alright, cool. Moving on to the next young lady…" He signaled for Noriko to go.

She wore the same unenthusiastic face as usual. "Just call me Noriko. I prefer being efficient, dislike loud mouths, and dream of being the greatest combat medic ever known." Konohamaru went to comment, but she cut him off. "Don't ask, I only have the one name. Even if I did have two, you would be none the wiser."

"Well, you're a boring one." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "At least you have a good goal to work towards. Not many kids know what type of ninja they want to be at your age." She made no hint of emotion, making Konohamaru feel awkward. "Anyways, who can tell me the significance of this team?"

"It makes no sense." Yuuki was quick to get a blank stare from her sensei.

"I agree with that." Noriko spoke out. "Why are the three strongest genin on the same team? Shouldn't there be a power curve?"

Konohamaru scratched his head. "Well, that's not necessarily true…Takeshi, what do you think?"

Takeshi crossed his arms. "From what I gather, many teams were set up to mimic previous teams. If I remember correctly, Team Seven's strongest team consisted of my parents, the current Hokage, and Noriko's father. That would make our team more of an experiment than anything."

"Very perceptive. In fact, the Team Seven you believe to be the strongest started out with the power balance Noriko mentioned. They put a dead last graduate in a team with the smartest and top graduate. It wasn't the strongest team on paper, but as time went on, the dead last ninja proved that paper doesn't show a ninja's potential. Even with the addition of a new member and a string of conflicted ideals, the team persevered against trifling odds. That same dead last is now the most renowned member of our village. The Sixth Hokage." He diverted his eyes to his trainees. Yuuki was looking off into the distance, completely ignoring him. Konohamaru was a little upset with how none of them really seemed to genuinely care. "Bottom line: You aren't even true genin yet, so don't just assume you'll always be tough shit because your graduation rank."

What he said seemed to grab their attention. Yuuki decided to snap back to reality. "Hey, Uncle-sensei." He gave her a stern look, causing a roll of her eyes. "Sensei…what kind of trial are we gonna do? I already discerned that it's not happening today."

He felt like a little of his leverage was being lost. "It appears your father is as dense as ever. You will be doing an advanced survival evaluation. It will take place at sunrise." They listened intently. _Got 'em! _"Oh, and skip breakfast. Unless you want to taste it a second time!"

"Well, bananas taste the same coming back up." Everyone looked at Yuuki with a static face. She didn't see anything wrong with her logic. "What? If the concern was bad taste in your mouth, it's really a giid solution."

"That's not the…" Konohamaru rubbed his eyes. "Just be on time tomorrow. I'd hate to send you back to the academy because you couldn't wake yourselves up." He was gone in a flash. Within an instant, the two rivals locked eyes. Takeshi could see the fire behind either one.

"Don't even think about it. Both of you." He knew conflict would be unavoidable if things remained this way. "We're all headed back together." This grabbed the girls' combine glare to him. "Get over it. We're a team."

OoOoOoOo

As they prepared to leave, nature made its call to Takeshi. The afternoon sun was eclipsed by the clouds, and what remained of a cool breeze vanished into nothingness. The area became desolate. Yuuki and Noriko deadlocked in a menacing stare. "You already know how this ends. I'll give you only one chance to back down. I'm not in the mood for holding back today."

Yuuki just prepared her hand seal. "Even if you used to hold back half of your strength, you would need quadruple that amount to challenge me. You aren't invincible. In fact, you're not even intimidating. This is my only offer: Quit while you're ahead. I won't even need to move." The words didn't trouble Noriko as much as the calm tone did. It was as if Yuuki knew she'd won already. "Fine by me. Kage bunshin no jutsu!" This was a first for Noriko. Instead of her rival blindly charging in for a punch, she performed a clone jutsu. There were a total of ten on top of that.

"Not bad, dry eyes. But do you really think illusions are going to scare me?" Before Noriko could gloat, one of the clones charged her back. As if by instinct, Noriko instantly recognized they weren't mere clones. She flipped over the attacker and jabbed a kunai down through its spine. _What the hell? That had resistance to my attack. These bodies are real? _"So you've learned a trick. Blindly charging in still leaves you wide open." Her words reached Yuuki, but her stance just turned into a cross-armed intimidation stare. Her clones had formed a circle around Noriko. "If you insist on being made a fool of…" Seven clones staggered in to attack her escape route. Noriko was successful in dodging the first series of combinations, but soon the attacks became organized chaos. It wasn't long before she took a powerful kick to the face. Noriko was sent down by the impact.

"What's wrong, Noriko? I haven't even moved an inch." A new fire raged within her rival as she stood back up.

"You have numbers, I'll give you that. But I'm stronger on my own. I've always been alone!" This time a group of six attacked. However, Noriko's killer intent unsheathed along with a small blade. Acting like a completely different person, she flipped onto a clone and snapped its neck. She quickly dismounted and rolled around the next punch, impaling under the shoulder into the heart. The remaining clones pushed in to attack at once. "Useless." Noriko spun carefully, slinging two senbon needles into the forward and backward charging clones while drawing a second blade longer than the first. Thrusting her arms out on either side, she caught their throats in a fatal strike. The clones burst into a cloud of smoke. She now pulled her body into a sword stance. In her left hand she gripped the smaller blade reversed and down. Her body bent back and dipped slightly as her right hand held the longer sword properly and across her back. "We were born into separate lives. In my very blood, the genes of a true ninja flow. Give up!" She had spoken in a dead serious voice. She had just thwarted the majority of Yuuki's offense. But standing in front of her was true conviction. Yuuki had changed. _What's this feeling? She still believes she can win?_

Suddenly, Yuuki smiled. Her clones held a similar pleasure in their face. "Warmed up? Let's begin then. Byakugan!" Noriko's eyes shrunk. Yuuki had never been able to use her eyes before. What was worse was the three remaining clones followed suit. "I don't believe for a second that you're an 'assassin'. Have you figured out why I'm not cowering in fear?" The four Yuuki's performed a kawarimi jutsu, quadrupling the confusion. "Because I've been almost killed by two, real enemy assassins!" Noriko felt a very intense sweat start running down her neck. She knew her sensing skill wasn't good enough to track down the real clones. She sheathed her swords. The Yuuki's held their ground. "Have you admitted defeat for once?"

Noriko sharply snapped her neck up. "You think you scare me?" She felt her senbon needles and closed her eyes. This wasn't how she wanted to resolve the fight. "I can knock you out in one motion!" Her hand flashed and two senbon nailed the stationary Yuuki. "Just because you can make clones to confuse you're enemy, doesn't mean you get to just stand in place. This is my victory." Slowly, the clones began dispersing. Finally, Yuuki collapsed face first into the ground. Noriko's eyes widened. "Shit, I was warned not to go too far!" She ran to Yuuki and rolled her over. "What if I missed the safe zones?" As she checked for a pulse, she felt a kunai press against her neck. Her body froze in disbelief. "What? Impossible!"

"I knew you hated me, but if you doubted yourself even a little, how could you make that throw? You really could have killed me, Noriko." The collapsed clone dispersed. Noriko's eyes were widened; a subtle trace of moisture collected in them.

"I never miss. It's just…" An authentic tear trickled down her face. "This one time, what if I'd let my emotions affect my aim? What if I committed murder on the only person who had ever acknowledged me?"

Yuuki took her kunai away from Noriko and sighed. "We've taken rivalry too far. I was going to catch up to you one day." Noriko's head sunk in shame. Yuuki turned away. "Listen up; I'll only admit it once: You are far stronger and more skillful than I at being a ninja. I only won through the art of deception. If you can't stand losing that badly, I'll give you a rematch any day. My ninja record against you is 1-0." Yuuki began stretching her neck. "Next time, don't try to brutally slaughter everything that looks like me. Like it or not, we're team mates now."

Noriko wouldn't show a soul, but she gave a genuine smile as she wiped her eyes. "Going for a fresh start on the record book are we?" She stood and turned to her rival. "I suppose it's appropriate in this case. For once, I'm looking forward to fighting you again, Yuuki." Hearing her name come from her rival's mouth stopped Yuuki in her tracks. Noriko hadn't acknowledged Yuuki's name in years.

Takeshi ventured outside to find Yuuki and Noriko staring at each other suspiciously. "Sorry, you two didn't try to kill each other while I was preoccupied, did you?"

"Dumbass, how long does it take you to take a crap?" Yuuki demanded the inappropriate truth. "You fell in didn't you?"

Takeshi reddened a little. "N-No, it's not like I was…I took a wrong turn and…"

The usually quiet Noriko chimed in. She decided to at least start involving herself in the conversations. "This is quite disturbing, Takeshi. It's not advisable to do the other thing in public."

Takeshi's face reddened to a near burgundy color. "Why the hell would I do that? I don't even know what this 'other thing' your accusing me of would be." He finally noticed the lack of hatred and rage between the two. "Wait, you two seem to be feeling better."

Noriko turned and began walking away. Yuuki smiled and started pushing Takeshi forward. "Well, we talked out most our differences while you were gone. We had a little argument, but I managed to prove my point and win."

"Really? That's great news!" Takeshi blinked a few times before narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean you won? Since when have you two ever settled an argument without fight-"

"Shh, you're not as cute when you're digging into other people's business." He blushed. "The problem has temporarily resolved itself, that's good enough." He stopped struggling for a moment. A subtle scent of lavender relaxed him and he wanted the feeling to linger. She finally took her hand off him and let him be. "See? Nothing to worry about."

He realized that he could be making the situation awkward between them, so he put on an annoyed face and walked faster. "I can take a hint without you muffling me." He didn't dare turn back.

"Takeshi!" As he kept walking, she realized he probably felt insulted by her carelessness. She just wanted to feel his lips a little longer. She slapped her forehead.

"Clueless…" Noriko had been observing everything and piped in that one-liner quietly.

"What'd you say?" Yuuki and Takeshi harmonized with each other.

"Nothing. I need to split off here. I'll be at the training field early." Noriko casually separated.

"Alright overachiever. Hey, you might as well go on a diet since we're skipping breakfast." Yuuki decided she had to say something. "It'll help with some of those tremors we've had lately."

"I'll try to keep that in mind. At least attempt to control your banana fetish. You'll be mistaken for the missing link." Takeshi sighed, but this time, no further remark was made. They just continued on their separate ways. Although it gave him worries, that's when he first had a sliver of hope for the future of this unlikely team.

OoOoOoOo

"Alright, I'm going to kill him!" The morning sun had risen long ago and there was no sign of their sensei.

"Is your uncle always this unreliable?" Noriko had been there for three hours already.

"Maybe this is part of his test." Takeshi jumped to his feet. "We could take some time to figure out some tactics and what not."

Yuuki displayed a less than enthusiastic face when her mood lifted. "Hey, maybe we should. And the first step is teaching him not to be late." Takeshi and Noriko looked to each other and shrugged. It was justice after all. "Alright, let me get a good look at everyone."

OoOoOoOo

Konohamaru finally approached his team an hour later. He became suspicious of their good behavior. "Sorry I was late. I had to help my wife with a few things and I ran out of cigarettes, so I had to-"

Yuuki cut him off and called him out. "Aunt Hanabi doesn't need your help that much, liar! Did you forget about the very test you assigned us?"

Konohamaru sighed before continuing on. "Right, we can argue all day, but let's just cut to the chase. This test isn't as original as it used to be, however it's by far the toughest." The group's attention was aroused immediately. Konohamaru slowly reached into his pocket, drawing on their anticipation. The speed at which he pulled his hands out gave them a shock, and in his hands rested two bells. "We are doing a bell test."

"What the hell is a 'bell test'? Can't we just do normal things, and how is this advanced survival evaluation?" Yuuki seemed to be voicing the opinions of the group's thought.

"Well, you don't have to criticize it so harshly based on appearance." He fastened the bells on the left side of his waist. "Your test is to get one of these bells. If you don't have a bell by the end of the day, you fail."

The group remained silent. "Sensei, there are only two bells. Someone is going to fail, so what's the consequence?" Noriko was the first to pose the question.

"Oh, that?" Konohamaru let out a brief laugh before grinning. "If you fail, you will get set back to the first day of the academy. If you fail badly enough, I will see to it personally you are banned from becoming ninja." The collective group was shocked by his revelation. A cold sweat broke out among them. They had all become too anxious to formulate a response. Konohamaru looked over them before lighting up a cigarette. "Well, if you don't come at me with intent to kill, you'll never get the bells. At least try not to fail. You can count the teams that have passed this test with your fingers." As he finished his sentence, a kunai zipped at his face. "Whoa!" He tilted his head back to avoid it, and it sliced the tip off his cigarette. Yuuki pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out.

"That's for being late, Uncle-Sensei!" The entire group vanished in a white smoke.

Konohamaru grunted as he picked his lighter back out of his pocket. "Yeah, it is kind of hard to get used to her calling me sensei." He inhaled a giant breath of smoke and filled the rest of his lungs with air. "I wonder if she has already figured shadow clones out then. It was actually a decent display of information gathering." He exhaled the rest of his lungs. "So what's your next move Yuuki? I'll try my best to help you reach the right conclusion, but I can see from yesterday you'll have conflicts with Noriko." He continued his bad habit.

OoOoOoOo

"Why can't we go out there now?" Noriko grew inpatient listening to Yuuki. If it weren't for Takeshi's vouching, she wouldn't have agreed in the first place. Before Yuuki got an attitude, she seemed to get struck by a bolt of lightning.  
>"Because we have the advantage in our test now!" <em>This is more complex than I thought…Should I tell them about the consequences? <em>"Basically, he's got two bells attached to his left hip and we have to get them. We will fail the test if we can't retrieve them. I assume I don't need to tell you that failing is bad."

The two considered the information. Noriko looked back to Yuuki and narrowed her eyes. Takeshi prepared to get between them. "We're going to need a good plan, so think quick before I do my own thing." They shared an intense stare before Noriko smiled. "Well, hurry up already! Let's see if your diversions can help us as much as they seem to help you." Takeshi knew the atmosphere between them was different, but this was unexpected. How did Noriko already know about Yuuki's diversion skills?

"Don't underestimate me. I have a two-phase plan to get a feel of how he's going to be testing us. We need to see how serious he is."

Takeshi looked over to Noriko. "What kind of style do you fight in right now? We should get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses." Yuuki muffled his mouth with a little more force than last time.

"I said don't underestimate me, didn't I?" She let go as he narrowed his eyes. "Noriko is an excellent swordsman up close and a sharp-shooter with senbon needles. I have a general plan for getting the bells that involves her marksman skills, but for now." Yuuki pulled out a kunai and began drawing up her first phase of the plan. "I'll think of phase two later, but this should do for now."

Noriko scanned over the plans as Yuuki summed up what the formations were. "How do you know he's going to check these formations out first? What if he just lets us come to him, or slaughters the formation?" Yuuki smiled.

"I've known my uncle for a while now. He's just like my father: curious to see if we used the best combination and how we intend to use each other's strength. He will be quick to jump in when we split up." She looked into her teams eyes and they nodded their heads in agreement. "Takeshi should have more time to set up. Our ultimate goal is to drive him into that clearing over there." She pointed to an open area with a semi-circle of forest line and a small lake completing the perimeter. They nodded again, returning their gaze to their sensei. Suddenly, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke himself. "Enough talking, its game time. Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

OoOoOoOo

Konohamaru studied what he could deduce from a tree branch. "Splitting up? That's exactly what I didn't want you to do." He flicked his cigarette out and went into motion towards Noriko. It didn't take him long to reach her and he made his presence known. "Do you really think I'm that dense Yuuki?" The two rivals spun around to face him. Noriko already had her swords out and ready, and Yuuki had her Byakugan active.

"I saw you coming, sensei. We won't go down as quickly as you think." She inched closer to him ready to attack. However, he was too quick for her and landed a heavy kick to her chest.

"Don't look down on me. I could tell just from your introductions that you aren't actually here. It's just typical rivals refusing to work together. You left a clone with Noriko and went with Takeshi. It was more convenient that way, wasn't it?" The clone dispersed. Noriko didn't give him a chance for a break. Konohamaru pulled out a kunai and blocked her swing.

"That works for me, sensei. I don't need that dead weight sitting around." She began thrashing out combinations at Konohamaru to no avail. It became clear that he was on a completely different level than she was. Noriko pushed off one of the parries and gained some distance.

Konohamaru sighed as he readied his hands. "You guys are disappointing me more and more the longer this goes. You are skilled physically, but there is always a weakness. In your case, it's arrogance. Let's see how tough your mind is…" Just before he could activate his genjutsu, a smoke bomb struck between the two. He was forced to cancel and retreat to avoid getting stuck by a kunai.

"So you had it all figured out, Uncle-Sensei?" Yuuki showed herself and stood next to the smoke. His eyes widened, genuinely shocked that Yuuki went with Noriko after all. "This situation isn't ideal for even you, now is it?"

Konohamaru smiled. "Clever Yuuki. It's good to see you taking advantage of your group's weaknesses. Let's see how sound your logic is then." Konohamaru began retreating towards where Takeshi went. The two relaxed as Yuuki made a hand seal.

"Release!" She shifted her eyes to Noriko and pointed.

"I'll give you props; he did exactly what you wanted him to do." They began running towards Takeshi's position. "And you really gain any information your clones gather?" Yuuki grinned and nodded. _I've got to admit that's pretty useful. Combine it with the byakugan…_ "Anyways, now he takes the shortest flanking route, landing him closer to the open area. And you're hoping Takeshi does his job and we force him to stay in the open?"

Yuuki ran quicker and looked forward. "It will work. Trust me."

OoOoOoOo

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Two more clones spawned next to Takeshi.

"That means Yuuki's plan is working, doesn't it? I see the other clone was dismissed." He halted, in an ideal, less clustered area.

"Yup, but this is where it gets tricky. It won't take much for him to knock these clones down. You know what you need to do, and by that time they should arrive for backup." He nodded and activated his sharingan. A clone pointed by motioning with her head.

"Aren't you going to attack, Sensei?" Takeshi drew a kunai along with several shurikens. Konohamaru descended on them and stood tall. "I won't wait for you to get comfortable!" He chucked the shurikens at his sensei, making him dodge to the left. Takeshi chucked the kunai as hard as he could to Konohamaru's left side now, making his sensei halt. Takeshi moved much faster than the other two and he came swinging. Since Konohamaru was off balance, he began parrying Takeshi's fast attacks. They held a good amount of power behind them. Noticing the lack of teamwork, Konohamaru landed a heavy punch to his face. Takeshi was blasted back at a violent speed. The Yuuki cones looked wide eyed as he struggled to get up. They shot looks at their sensei; He wasn't pulling his punches at all.

"I figured your teamwork would have been better than this. You were more in synch with Noriko, Yuuki." This prompted the group to attack. They bunched in her typical formation, more aggressive than normal. The leg sweeps and flurry of gentle fist attacks were incredibly fluent. At the level he was fighting at, it would have been impossible to avoid. Catching on to her combo, he allowed a leg sweep to hit. It wasn't powerful enough to knock him down, and he took the opening to parry and destroy the other two. What appeared to be a final stand by the last one was thwarted by an elbow drop to the head. "Why don't you two get it?" The smoke from the clone began to clear, revealing a massive fireball in front of Konohamaru. "Hey, hey, hey!" As he leapt to the side, he let the fire singe his cigarette. "I appreciate it, but I have a lighter." Takeshi couldn't help but smile at their sensei. It seemed like he was having fun with it when they worked together.

"Well, Yuuki's final piece of the plan falls into place here anyways. You've lost; we wanted you in this clustered environment." Konohamaru nodded as he exhaled smoke. He noticed both Yuuki and Noriko were hiding in the area already.

"So everything goes according to her plan then?" He looked to where she was hiding. "Well tell her that things don't always go so smoothly in the ninja world. You guys have to come to me, remember." He retreated to the exact area Yuuki wanted him to go. He casually began smoking in the clearing.

That prompted them to jump out and checked in on Takeshi. "Are you hurt? I saw what happened. I didn't plan on him knocking your face off."

He rubbed his face a little. "I'd be lying if I said it tickled, but I've gone through worse." He smiled. "Did you like that line I gave him?"

She laughed. "I'm surprised he didn't see straight through it, but it did its job perfect. We need to formulate phase two quickly, and I already see our victory." Her stomach reminded her of the missed meal. Everyone else seemed to be having the same issue. "Let's finish this quickly. Listen carefully."

OoOoOoOo

_I don't think I'm being too soft on them, am I? I've gone along with this plan good enough, but if I don't see them all work together here…_ He flicked his cigarette away. Yuuki and Takeshi showed themselves in the clearing, not even twenty feet from him. "So this is how you're plan has adapted? Neglecting a member to press the attack?" Yuuki gave a sinister grin.

"It's our victory, for four distinct reasons." He raised an eyebrow. She slammed a smoke bomb down at her feet, masking the duo. Noriko came around their right and kept her running pace and distance from him. As he looked forward, he made hand seals to counter the fireball jutsu with a stronger one. To his surprise, emerging from the haze was Takeshi with Yuuki following behind. As he pulled away from his jutsu, three kunai rained down on him, hindering an immediate counter. Three feet before Takeshi was to him, he made an aggressively far and high leap.

Konohamaru was not distracted and focused on the advancing Yuuki. "Four reasons, it seems they've failed. Who will stop me from attacking you?" Suddenly, she pulled her arm back and thrust it forward from a couple meters. His eyes widened as she smiled.

"Reason one: Empty palm thrust!" He crossed his arms as he was blown backwards. The sun beaded into his eyes, barely seeing Takeshi dropping his heel to his face.

Takeshi added to her declaration. "Reason two: Pulverizing heel drop!" Konohamaru caught it with his right hand. He pulled a kunai and twisted to his left, noticing the incoming kunai from Noriko.

"Wait!" As he parried the kunai, she dispersed in a smoke. The bells dangled towards the ground at that instant. Before he could do anything, the bell strings were cut loose by two senbon needles.

Noriko began running towards the bells. "Reason three: Marksmanship!" As the bells touched the ground, Yuuki's last smoke bomb met them. Takeshi struggled free and flipped into the cover of smoke. Konohamaru caught himself and waited for the smoke to clear. All three of his pupils seem to be scattering for the bells. Finally, Yuuki was revealed to have both bells.

"Impressive, but now who fails is on you. Who's it going to be, Yuuki?" Takeshi and Noriko both showed their confusion. Konohamaru smiled. "So you didn't pass on the word?"

Yuuki looked at the bells and sighed. She forced them onto her comrades, and left herself empty-handed. "Reason four: Sacrifice. I accept my failure to allow my team to move on!" Konohamaru's eyes grew wider than her teammates.

"What are you talking about Yuuki? We have the bells. We passed, didn't we?" Takeshi put his arm on her shoulder, hoping she had forgotten the objective.

"It wasn't as simple as just retrieving the bells, was it? Whoever didn't get a bell would fail as well." Noriko glared at her sensei. "She may have withheld information, but you were intentionally trying to pit us against each other, weren't you?" Konohamaru seemingly ignored their remarks.

"You know what this means, right Yuuki?" She sank her head in a somber nod. "For withholding vital information from the team, I should deem you unfit for being a ninja. You can forget about getting off easy and returning to the academy."

Takeshi stepped forward. "What? That's the punishment for failing? That's bullshit and you know it!" His fist clenched the bell tightly. "This is what makes us ninja material?" He pelted his sensei with the bell. "I don't give a damn about your tradition. Banning people from their dreams is like pulling the wings off a hatching butterfly!"

A second bell hit Konohamaru, his face still stern. "In this situation, I agree. She withheld that information, and we were none the wiser. It helped us focus on working together to accomplish a goal. On top of that, she atoned for that by sacrificing her own future." Noriko stood in front of Yuuki as well. "I don't need to accept her pity, but what gives you the right to deny your own niece for her selfless acts?"

Konohamaru pulled out his lighter and struck it. He sucked in a lung full as he closed in on his students. Yuuki's head was still sunk. "I said I should ban you from being a ninja. I never said I would." The group's eyes shot open. "Hell, I hate being the deceiver. The whole point of the bell test isn't even getting the bells. It was to show you could come together as a team, despite the conditions." They were shocked by the revelation, except for Yuuki. Yuuki began snickering and rubbing her nose. He looked upset at seeing her laugh. "Don't act like you knew this!"

"I had it figured out when I saw two bells and you trying to act all bad. The entire time we fought, you kept criticizing our teamwork. It was clear that you would allow us to get the bells once we combined for an attack. Besides, who's ever heard of a two-genin team?" Konohamaru frowned as she made sense. The team turned to her and showed embarrassment at the logic.

"You could have told us he was bluffing." Takeshi wiped his forehead. "So we passed after all."

"This is why I hate you, dry eyes." Noriko refused to make eye contact with Yuuki. "When do we start our missions?"

Konohamaru took another breath of smoke. "I'll get you guys on missions right away. And don't be harsh on Yuuki's humor in the situation: Of all the teams I've tested, you were the only one I actually enjoyed testing." They accepted his response with some excitement. "I guess it makes sense, seeing as I had to fail my other teams. Why do young people always want to be the hero?"

"Can we go? You're starting to get boring, Uncle-Sensei." Yuuki's comment and tone irked him.

"Stop calling me that!" He rubbed his forehead to calm himself. "Anyways, how about I treat you all to ramen? I guess you more than earned it." They all felt their stomachs attack them from the inside.

"Hope you have a fat wallet, Uncle-Sensei. I'm starving!" He began sweating, knowing he was about to blow his paycheck. He couldn't help but be impressed though. This young team had quite an interesting variety to it. As they left the training field that day, he couldn't help but wonder how they would cope with the difficult future.

OoOoOoOo

The man had documented every moment of the fight from the shadows. His assignment required extensive knowledge of the team. He put his pen down and tucked away the scroll. With this, his mission for the day was complete. He practically melted away from the scene, undetected.

-Author's note-

I just want to apologize how big this chapter was if it bothered you. I've slowly cranked up their length every chapter, but this one was a monster by comparison. Let me know if you prefer them this length as well.


	7. Taking Chances

-Authors Note-

My apologies for such a long period of downtime. Big NAVY calls and you kinda have to roll with it. This chapter is important, as we're getting the ball rolling here quickly. A lot can happen in two months, in story AND irl haha.

**Chapter 7: Taking Chances**

"No, no, no, no, absolutely not happening!" The Hokage stared her down with a dead-paned face. These outbursts from Yuuki were getting more and more aggressive recently. "We've done eleven D ranked missions already! Give us a real one." Her cheeks were puffed and her arms crossed. Konohamaru put a hand on her shoulder.

"There are others more qualified for those missions, Yuuki. While you guys have made a great deal of progress, the way you're behaving is proving otherwise." She paused for a moment before pushing his arm of her shoulder. After a period of frustration filled the room, Naruto let out an elongated sigh.

"I know you're aware of the ranking system and assignments that come accordingly, Team Seven." Takeshi nudged Yuuki and gave her a concerned face that came of a little silly. Natural reaction forced a chuckle as she pushed his face away, rolling her eyes. She faced her father with a reduced hostility as he continued. "Just because your team is unique doesn't mean you'll get favoritism from me." A thunderhead of frustration began to gather in the room. Konohamaru shifted his eyes to his 'brother' with a face that called bullshit. The Hokage shuffled through his mission request and slid one out onto the table. He looked away and began scratching his cheek. "With that said, you've proven more than capable of performing on a higher level. I do have this _one_ C-ranked mission you could do."

"Really?" Yuuki was clearly the most excited, but even Noriko showed more life in her eyes. "Finally! We get to shove sensei's 'qualified' theory up his-" A tightening hand on her shoulder cut her off.

"Yes, this is a big step for you three. However, we don't even have the mission details yet. Let the Hokage finish, damn it!" She opted to comply with her uncle this time, curious as to what was in store. Konohamaru laughed neverously, realizing his outburst was probably more uncalled for. Naruto cleared his throat and continued.

"This is essentially just a delivery and assessment mission." He held up an envelope and continued. "You will report to the Village Hidden in the Rivers and deliver this to the leader. Then you will observe the condition of the village itself and assist in any work they need assistance with." Konohamaru accepted the envelope and tucked it away. "Don't spend longer than a week out there, as there are many things here you must prepare for." A jittery Yuuki neglected the last sentence and waited impatiently.

Konohamaru turned and smiled to his team. "You heard the Hokage, go pack lightly for a week's supply. Meet at the front gate in thirty minutes."

"Thank you for the cool, lame mission dad!" With that, she turned to Takeshi and smiled heartily. He returned the smile and she was out the door in seconds.

"I thank you for this opportunity, lord Hokage. You will not be disappointed." Noriko bowed in respect, making Naruto feel uncomfortable. "I will be ready to leave in ten minutes, sensei." Despite her serious demeanor, it was clear she was just as excited as Yuuki. She left swiftly and without another word.

"Takeshi, you should go tell your family you're heading out for the week." He nodded but seemed to be contemplating something.

"Sensei, are you sure we should be doing C-ranked missions?" Takeshi's attitude both shocked and confused him.

"You are quite the responsible one, Takeshi. Let me ask you the same thing. Do you feel like your team is ready for C-missions? I have faith in our squad, but you're opinion does matter." Naruto listened in on the conversation just as intently as Konohamaru. Takeshi's face relaxed and even shed a confident smile.

"We've been ready for a month at least. We've put a lot of work in our first two months as genin. I just wanted to be sure that you believed we were. You are our sensei, and you did turn down the idea for a while." He put his hands in his pockets and looked away. "I just thought it was odd that your opinion changed so easily, that's all."

"Alright, you're getting annoying. Go away." Takeshi smiled at Konohamaru's sarcasm and he left in no rush. Both men watched as the door shut and knew they were alone. He leaned against Naruto's desk. "It really is amazing how much the Uchiha have turned around in this generation. The hate is practically non-existent." Naruto's mind wondered for a moment on memories of the past. He attempted to mask his inner concern for the young boy with a smirk.

"They are a pretty impressive rookie team, aren't they?" Konohamaru nodded casually. "If things weren't so uncertain, I would have had them on a C mission much earlier." This prompted his brother to break his daydreaming and focus back on the Hokage.

"So what's the catch with this mission?" Naruto sat back and looked out to the southwest.

"We've been helping these countries for years, and making a lot of progress towards peace. It's no mystery that the recent attack has likely reached the ears of most villages. Knowing this, any mission to another country could be a potential disaster. While threats were mostly eliminated with the fourth ninja war, the small villages are starting impressive ninja programs themselves. " Konohamaru walked next to the window, already well aware of this fact. "I'm sending genin teams to the villages that are more likely to remain our allies. I need your team especially for this village, as it's no secret they have grown phenomenally. That is the purpose of this observation mission."

"But the land of rivers is still relatively important for another reason, isn't it? There hasn't been any hostile action from them in ten years; not since the attempted revival of Akatsuki." He looked back to Naruto who acknowledged his assumptions.

"Yes, there is a side mission for you. It's an A-ranked mission that you will collaborate with your ANBU ghost agent on. Before you bother asking, I know the risk it imposes. You will leave in the late hours of the night, search for anything strange in the ruins of Akatsuki's hideouts, and return to the village within one hour. We are mostly attempting to find connections to Guden of Hell's Phoenix." Konohamaru agreed with his Hokage's logic and concern. It was likely to be a typical C mission, but there was that chance for something to go terribly wrong.

"Alright, I understand. I'll keep them safe without them suspecting a single thing." He opened the door and gave his brother one more look. "I look forward to working with this ANBU ghost agent of yours."

Naruto smiled and leaned back in his chair once more. "You've been working with him since the team was formed." Konohamaru grinned and closed the door. After another brief moment, his eyes shifted forward once more. "Alright, is the mission clear?" Isami appeared before him crouching. In one hand he held his mask; in the other was a half-eaten apple. Naruto grunted. "Would it kill you to take these things seriously?" His son took a exaggeratingly big bite out of the apple and set it on the desk.

"I take a lot of things seriously! I just make sure no one realizes I do, that's all." Muffled by the apple chunk, it was difficult to discern what exactly he had said. Isami attempted to swallow the chunk, but it soundly lodged itself in his throat.

Naruto began rubbing his eyes. "It really is a miracle you've made it this far. You're a bigger fool than I ever was." His son cleared his throat and continued.

"Basically, I watch over any dangers, carefully observe the village behavior, and scout out the abandon Akatsuki hideouts. Anything to watch for particularly? Oh, and how much time until I need to be there? Mission priorities aren't a good excuse for the work I need to do."

Naruto regained his composure. "Keep a particular eye out for the village's behavior. DO NOT let on that you are there unless there's a dire emergency. Besides that, keep a close eye on the kids. As for how much time, I can give you twenty-five minutes. What's the occasion?"

He put the wolf mask on and cleared his throat. "Well…there's no good timing or way to put this. Let's see…when in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the philosophical bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the world, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's Gods entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. Those said causes shall be declared some other time." Naruto's jaw dropped in utter confusion as his son cleared his throat. "If I don't help with some heavy lifting and moving said items, I'll probably be out on the streets. She can be difficult sometimes." An awkward pause in conversation ensued as they stared at each other. "Well…good day." He dispersed in a deliberate swarm of leaves. His father stood and leaned on the front of his desk.

"Did he just declare his independence and move in with a girl? Hinata won't like this at all." His hand rubbed against the eaten apple. He narrowed his eyes and slid it a few inches into the trash can. "How did he get that serious with a girl? She must be used to dealing with his annoying habits."

OoOoOoOo

"I'm leaving for a week father. Is mother working today?" Sai appeared before her with a genuine smile.

"A C-ranked mission, huh? I never expected this day to come so soon." He saw his daughter's lack of shared enthusiasm. "Make sure to watch over your team and remain vigilant."

"So mother isn't here again?" Sai's expression turned to a more somber tone. "I see. I guess I just thought that today of all days…" Noriko silenced herself and put on a fake smile. "Never mind, it's irrelevant."

Sai put his hands on her shoulders and knelt down. "She works hard in an unforgiving field. Your mother is proud of who you've become and what you're doing. It's just hard for us to get a chance to tell you." Noriko nodded and turned to leave.

"Thanks father. However, you are the only one who encourages me. After all the years I've assisted mother at the hospital, not once has she complemented me. But I see why. It's because I was soft. Emotions get in the way of work and causes critical mistakes." Sai's heart sank hearing his daughter say this. "I will earn her respect one way or another."

As she began to leave, Sai stopped her one more time and hugged her. Her eyes widened at the affection she rarely ever saw. "Noriko, you're wrong. Killing your emotions will kill your sanity. Give it a try: I wouldn't be here today if I didn't. It's exactly the thing I never wanted you to experience." With that said, he let go and stood up. She nodded and kept her eyes down, leaving without another word. Sai locked his eyes on the hospital with an anger filled body. "Is this what you wanted your daughter to feel Karin?" Sai left his house and stormed to the hospital. "This ends now!"

OoOoOoOo

He stood tall as she gave him a thorough inspection. Sakura slipped her custom soldier pills in and sighed. Suddenly, the boy found himself in a death grip hug. "Takeshi! Make sure you're careful out there! I'll kill that bonehead myself if you're even scratched!"

"Help…" Sakura released him and his color returned. After regaining his breath, Takeshi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry so much, it's just a C-ranked mission. We've been prepared for it." She looked back to Sasuke who gestured 'no' to her. "Besides, when Yuuki and I are on, nothing can keep us down. AND we have the greatest jonin sensei out there. Nothing can go wrong."

"Whew, you two really do move fast for a couple kids." Hitomi walked out in her casual clothes and smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at Takeshi. He began breaking out in sweat for a moment.

"She means how fast they're progressing in through missions, _right?_" Sasuke gave a supporting glare to her as she laughed nervously, nodding in agreement. "Where are you going, anyways? You've been packing for a while." Hitomi slowly retreated.

Sakura stood up and became interested. "Are you moving out?" Takeshi's eyes shot open. Hitomi smiled as she rubbed her head. "Finally decided to stop free-loading, did ya?"

"You caught me. I'm just moving essentials today, since I see Takeshi's team is headed out for a week. I was going to tell you eventually." Sasuke and Sakura were practically shooting lasers with their eyes. She began sweating a little. "Don't worry; I'm moving in with Kochi. We're splitting the rent. That gives you two some privacy as well, eh?" That was enough to break the intimidation stares. "Anyways, I can't be late. Good luck on your mission Takeshi!" Hitomi bolted to her room.

Sasuke put his hand on his son's head. "I'm sure it'll be boring, but work hard and stay vigilant. We've got training to do when you get back." Takeshi gained chills when he heard that. It wasn't often that either him or Hitomi got to train with their father, but he remembered how much stronger it made Hitomi.

Sakura gave him one more death squeeze before he went. "I'll be sure to whip you into shape as well. You need to start bulking up." The excitement for training went out the window. A tag-team regime with his parents was described to him by his sister in one word: Hell. He let out a sigh as he proceeded to open the door. "Good luck out there, Takeshi! We're proud of you."

OoOoOoOo

"Oh…I see." Hinata just received news that Isami was moving out. She tried to remain relaxed. Isami was surprised at her calm demeanor, but he knew it wouldn't last. "Give me a hug before you go, Isami." He rolled his eyes. _Obvious trap._ She rushed over and locked her arms around him. After a few long moments, it was clear he wasn't getting out of it anytime soon. "Isami!" She broke down in a few tears. "I knew this day would come, but not so suddenly!"

He grunted as he patted her on the back. He made eye contact with an angry Yuuki. "Help me out a little, would ya?"

She huffed and turned away. "You dug that hole yourself, jerk. Don't bother asking me for help anymore. You're on your own now." She walked back to her room before turning back. "Idiot!" _What's with that reaction?_ The slamming door was enough to scare Hinata out of her hug.

Isami slowly grabbed his things and worked towards the door. "Don't worry yourself too much mom, I'll come visit all the time. It's just like me being on a lot of missions for a while." She wiped her eyes and smiled back.

"Really? Okay, just let me know ahead of time so I can give you a good dinner." She gave him a gentler hug this time. "At least I still have your sister to keep me company." He laughed nervously.

"Y-Yeah, of course, she can help you out today. I'll be back before you know it." He opened the door. "I better go before it's too late. See ya!" She held the door for him and waved him off as he left. Then Isami noticed Takeshi headed his way. "Yo, excited about that C mission today?"

Takeshi returned the greeting. "I guess so." He noticed the boxes Isami was holding. "Are you moving out today as well?" Isami showed a bit of alarm.

"You caught me. Who else is moving out?" He asked in a rhetorical tone.

"My sister, apparently. She's going to go live with Kochi or something." Takeshi sensed an awkward atmosphere. "Just moving the essentials today?"

Isami laughed as he continued on his way. "Yup, I figure I'll take it slow sense team seven heads out on a mission today." Takeshi narrowed his eyes. His sister basically said the same thing. Isami realized he may start asking questions soon. "Damn, look at the time! I've got deadlines to meet. See ya around man. Keep Yuuki in line, will ya?" Takeshi could say nothing in response. _Why is everyone assuming we're dating? _His thoughts were interrupted with the door slamming open and Yuuki yelling at him.

"RUN!" She was practically dragging her mother out the door with her. Once Hinata realized Takeshi, she shot up and attempted to compose herself. Yuuki ran to the street and turned to her. "It's only one week, mom. I'll be back before you know it!"

Hinata nodded tearfully. "Take care of her, Takeshi. I'm counting on you!" She grabbed his arm before he could rub his head and they took off. Hinata watched as her daughter now left her alone. She sniveled and broke into more tears. "Why is everyone leaving me today?" As they made their way down the road, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Wanna go grab a drink? I'm having a rough day to." She looked up to see Sakura. Hinata wiped away her tears and nodded.

"I suppose it would be rude to say no…"

OoOoOoOo

"That's funny; Hitomi did the same thing today. She said she was going to split rent with Kochi though." The two youths pondered over the situation for a little while. "It's weird how both of them are just moving the essentials today and both remarked the reason being this mission."

"Well, maybe they're moving in together. That makes the most sense, doesn't it?" Noriko jumped into the conversation and scared them.

"How long have you been here?" Yuuki naturally questioned.

"Ten minutes before you two were…you didn't notice?" Takeshi and Yuuki shrugged.

"They can't be moving in together. Isami isn't the kind of guy a girl would move in with unless they had a high tolerance for the things he does." Yuuki reasoned as Takeshi agreed.

"Besides, Hitomi just likes spontaneous things. I used to be spontaneous myself until she fixed that. She likes things creating chaos and turning it orderly." The more they tried to discard the theory, the more it became likely. "Besides, your brother is a pervert, isn't he? She broke his ribs for it."

Noriko sighed at their desperate attempts. "From an outside perspective, I'm telling you they are probably living together. He likes good looking women and being spontaneous, and she probably likes him for the same reasons. There's really nothing wrong with your brother that can't be fixed." Yuuki and Takeshi both stared wide eyed at her, attempting to deny it.

Yuuki scoffed at her. "What kind of quality does my brother have that's even semi-appealing? Do you even know him?"

Noriko smirked at her. "Oh, do I know him. I hate to break it to you, but your brother is hot." Yuuki's jaw dropped. "He's also funny, has a way with words, and obviously very powerful. He has the Byakugan and his father is the Sixth Hokage. Like I said, not much that can't be fixed. He's the best thing to come from your family in generations probably." Yuuki's head sank, seeing even her rival fluttering over her brother.

"Hey, that's not true. He's not the best thing to happen. I look up to him, but he has his flaws. Besides, there's too much assumption being bounced around. We won't know anything until we get back. Let's just try to focus on the mission." Hearing reason helped Yuuki shake it off.

Noriko sighed. "Very well." They paused for a bit in silence, knowing Konohamaru was running behind. Noriko thought about what her father had said, and wondered what emotions were capable of doing. She gave a devious smirk back to the other two. "I wouldn't worry about Isami so much Yuuki." She raised an eyebrow. "A lot of the girls have several men they drool over. I think you were secretly part of one of those groups as well." Yuuki panicked once more before Takeshi caught on.

"Really? And who would that have been, Yuuki?" Noriko's mouth was muzzled before he could get an answer. She smiled as she pulled Noriko to the side.

"You know her, full of nonsense. Just a second." Yuuki released Noriko's mouth and began a whisper fight. "If you tell him, I swear to you that tongue will be gone."

Noriko spit Yuuki's fingers out. "What's the big deal? Is he really that clueless? By the way, you taste strange."

Yuuki slapped Noriko and then rubbed the cheek she slapped. "Sorry, that was excessive. Right now, we're both feeling strange about our siblings' behavior. Oh, and the slap was for tasting me. You're weird."

"What's weird is how pathetic you are. You haven't even told him how you feel, and you two nearly died protecting each other. Maybe I'll take a shot at him for old time sake. I've been backing off, but you can't seem to do it." Noriko slapped Yuuki back. "And don't you ever slap me again. By the way, the taste was lavender, you strange, strange individual."

"Am I going to need to step in here?" Konohamaru stood smoking his cigarette. Yuuki slapped Noriko as they shot up.

"We're fine, really. Oh, and you're late Uncle-Sensei!" He grunted.

"Are we going to have an episode with you two? I saw those slaps." Yuuki laughed while rubbing her head, eyeing Takeshi.

"Not really, we were just talking about how she taste." All eyes snapped and jaws dropped at Noriko, who didn't understand the shock. "What? It was pretty distinct." Konohamaru's cigarette fell out of his mouth and Takeshi's nose bled ever so slightly.

Coughs came from their sensei as he immediately changed the subject. "Anyways, we need to get moving as soon as possible. I see you all packed well, so no need for idle chat…in the slightest…meaning I don't want to know, nor do I care. To the Land of Rivers!" Takeshi wiped his nose and the team was off.

Isami watched over them, rubbing his temples. _Man, they have it all wrong…sort of…_

OoOoOoOo

After a long day's travel, the team sets up camp for the night. With only a few hours travel ahead of them, the trip had proven to be as boring as their parents suggested. As they started a fire for the cold night, Konohamaru sat down and explained the situation.

"It's important to practice vigilance at times like this." The genins focused on the man's face barley lit by the flicker of the flames. He took a bite from his ration. "Although we have yet to find danger, night time is the most dangerous. The fire is not the safest choice out there, but it's a tad cooler than I expected. This is a good chance to introduce the joys of watches." The group looked over each other and shrugged. "So, getting to the point, two of us will stand watch now." His eyes shifted to the trees as if to signal someone. "And two will take the remainder of the night. I'll take one spot on this shift, so who'll fill the other?"

Yuuki and Takeshi looked around as they both finally stared down Noriko. She looked over both of them before grunting. "Screw you guys two." They both smiled as if to thank her in advance. She sighed and stood up. "Fine, I don't need much sleep anyways." Konohamaru flicked his cigarette away as he exhaled. Noriko shot him a stern look. "You won't be polluting my lungs with that junk either, sensei."

He rubbed his head and laughed. "That's what I used to say." Among the three, no one seemed to understand his humor. "Regardless, this is an important duty. Yuuki and Takeshi bear responsibility for our safety as we sleep. Don't let your guard down." The kids agreed formally, but Yuuki's eyes drifted towards the direction her uncle's just were. Noticing her suspicion, Konohamaru quickly concluded his point to sidetrack them. "It's safe for the time being, so try to get some rest you two."

OoOoOoOo

The wind grew cold as it drifted through the woods. A few dull hours had passed as Konohamaru and Noriko stared into the dark abyss. The moon was full, but the clouds scarcely let it light the forest.

"How are parents supposed to act?" Noriko interrupted the long silence with a question shocking her sensei.

He fixed his eyes forward and pondered. It wasn't the easiest question to answer, after all. "There's no one set method to it. Often times the parents come together and figure out what's best for the kid." He looked back to her and observed a hint of distress in her posture. "Why do you ask? Are you doing alright at home?" The questions led into an extended sigh.

"It's none of my business, but I'm concerned about my mother. My father takes good care of us, but I rarely see them doing anything together. There seems to be more arguments than conversations between us. The only advice she's ever given me is to set my fear and petty feelings aside. And whenever I thought I hit a benchmark, all she told me was how I could have done it more efficiently." Noriko's hands began to tighten. "It just seems unfair because everyone else gets to have both parents encouraging them every day." She slowly moved her eyes into contact with her sensei's. "What were your parents like?"

Konohamaru chuckled as he lit another cigarette. "Can't say I remember much about 'em. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father died on a mission when I was four." Even Noriko showed her empathy of the news. However, she figured he at least knew the details on his father's death by now. "I was lucky enough to have my grandfather, the Third Hokage, take me in. While it was hard for me to not curse my past misfortune, I decided to just keep moving forward as best I could." As he braked for a smoke, Noriko pictured what kind of void that may have created. He looked back to her and smiled. "Hell, I really can't complain. You know, Yuuki's father didn't ever meet his parents. In fact, he was hated, and sometimes attacked, by everyone in the village until he was just a bit younger than you." The revelation seemed to inoculate into her faster than any shot could. Noriko looked over her rival as her sensei could only speculate how many questions raced through her mind. Konohamaru continued on. "Yet the Sixth Hokage was the funny goof that he is today, and that attitude instilled in me the drive to get out of my grandfather's legacy and into demanding the acknowledgement of the name my parents gave me. All you need is that one person who cares. It's easy to expect great things from yourself or your kids, but what really matters in life is honesty and guts."

It wasn't a conversation she'd ever had with anyone, yet it was as if he knew exactly what she was going through. A smile came across her face and her nerves soothed. However, her eyes were still hued a melancholic glaze. "I see. So life can be much worse for me, but it all comes down to how much I let it affect me." He stared at his young pupil, knowing his answer came off bittersweet. "I think my parents are going to split soon." Konohamaru sighed. _What can you say to a young teenager at this point? _An awkward silence built before she concluded the conversation. "Thank you, Konohamaru-Sensei. It was more helpful than you think."

Their thoughts drifted back into the windy night. The only difference this time was Noriko. The smoke didn't seem to bother her as much.

OoOoOoOo

"YUUKI!" A booming voice shot her awake and threw her into an attack stance. Once she realized her uncle laughing hysterically, the adrenaline shifted into rage.

"What the hell? A simple 'wake up' is more than enough!" Takeshi relaxed himself as well and calmly sighed.

Konohamaru stopped laughing long enough to wipe his eyes. "Consider that payback for hiding my things when you were young. If you hadn't guessed, it's your shift." Her weariness reminded her of the meal she craved. "Just making sure I woke up everyone. The area has been completely desolate of activity. Remember to utilize that byakugan when you're in doubt and what not." Konohamaru yawned and passed out. "Welcome to watch."

Still cursing under her breath, Yuuki pulled out a ration of food and indulged in it. Takeshi tapped into his own meal and they began the start of what promised to be a long day. The moon managed to catch a decent break through the clouds as the recently rekindled fire flickered a dance.

"What do you think he meant by waking 'everyone'?" She finished her last bite and waited for Takeshi's input, despite the confused look he gave her. "Did you notice that? For one; his eyes shifted to the tree line earlier when he assigned us to this watch. And for two; he normally says 'both' or 'you two' when he's talking to two people. Think someone's out there that he doesn't want us to notice?"

Takeshi scratched his head for a moment before dismissing her paranoia. "I think you're just over thinking things. We would probably know if there was someone watching, thanks to your byakugan." Yuuki shrugged, abandoning her concerns of it. "Your curiosity always did lead you into trouble though. Well…that and your overwhelming free spirit of course."

She laughed as she mocked his word selection. "Really? 'Overwhelming'?"

"Come on! You've been giving me trouble since I first met you. You _do _remember how the day we were properly introduced went, right?" Yuuki put her finger on her chin as if to call forth a forgotten memory. She could think of any number of memories, but they all blurred together time-wise. Takeshi rubbed his head. "Jeez, you're hopeless. It was nine years ago…"

-Flashback-

"Go ahead, Takeshi. Introduce yourself." The timid young boy reluctantly did as his mother asked.

"Good afternoon. My name is Uchiha Takeshi. Nice to meet you." His eyes found it hard to maintain eye contact with the little girl he was meeting. _Why does mother make me do these stupid things? She's just staring at me._

The young girl's mother smiled gently, but the girl herself grinned ear-to-ear. "I'm Yuuki! You look weak, but that's ok."

Hinata tugged her daughter's sleeve. "That was very rude, Yuuki! You should apologize."

"Takeshi, stay here and play. She won't bite." Sakura invited Hinata into the house once more and the two were left alone. Takeshi stared at the young girl who immediately began exploring the vast yard. His fist were clenched, thinking of what to say.

"I'm an Uchiha. We aren't weak, so you're wrong." She seemed to blow him off completely before turning to him and smiling.

"Let's race. First one up a tree wins, ok?" His eye twitched at her neglect. _What an annoying person. _

"Fine. If I win, you have to take back what you said. I happen to be a very good tree climber by the way." He opened his eyes to see her already going at it. "Hey, that's cheating!"

OoOo

"See? You cheated and I still won! Now you HAVE to take it back!" The girl was upset before snorting back at him.

"AGAIN!" Takeshi shrugged off her whining. _What a sore loser…_ "First one down is a rotten egg!" He almost expected such a childish game. Takeshi maneuvered swiftly to the ground before she had even moved.

"Looks like you're the rotten egg!" He pointed out proudly. Yet she remained there laughing. "Why are you laughing when you lost?"

She grinned before explaining. "I said FIRST one down is the rotten egg! I WIN, I WIN…" Takeshi's jaw dropped as he realized how easily he had been fooled.

"Whatever, I'm going to do something else. You're mean." The girls chanting stopped.

"Wait! Don't leave me up here!" He stuck his tongue out this time.

"I know you're trying to trick me. Stay up there for all I care!" As he went to walk away, he heard a whimpering breaking out. When he turned around, she was even crying. "What now?"

"It's too far down! I'm scared!" After a long stare, he realized that her tears were real: This girl was afraid of heights, yet she challenged him to tree climbing. He ran over to the tree.

"Just jump down. You'll be fine!" The girl sobbed a few times before crying once more.

"I'LL DIE!" Takeshi began to panic. He climbed the tree and stretched out his hand.

"Grab on, I'll take you down!" Yuuki slipped reaching for his hand. She desperately caught it and attempted to hold on. However, he could only slow her fall before the weight pulled him down from the tree. Although Yuuki landed softly to the ground, Takeshi took the full force of the fall. "Ow!" The young boy began cringing in pain and rubbing his scraped leg. _I really am weak. Stupid girl, I know her for ten minutes and I get hurt because of it. _

"Wow, that was cool!" Takeshi gave her a glare, but she put on her usual grin. "Hey, you're name is Takeshi, right? I don't know what an Uchiblah is, but you really are strong. My full name is Uzumaki Yuuki. Nice to meet ya!" His confidence was restored. A realization made his eyes shoot open.

"NO WAY! You're Isami's sister? He's the one who taught me how to climb trees! My sister is Hitomi!"

"NO WAY! She taught me how to annoy boys!"

As they say, the rest is history.

-End flashback-

Takeshi finished rehashing the memory and both of them were quite amused. Yuuki rubbed her head and grinned. "Yeah, I guess I have always been a burden on you." She crossed her arms. "And it took you nine years to get rid of that arrogance. You really have been doing better since that night." Takeshi nodded, knowing it was mostly due to that night that he changed. Yuuki activated her byakugan and searched the area. As she finished she leaned in closer to Takeshi. "So…do you think Isami and Hitomi are moving in together?"

Takeshi pocketed his hands and stared into the fire. "I don't want to believe that. My sister still bashes him behind his back, and I think they just like playing mind games anyways."

Yuuki squinted slightly. "You don't 'want' to believe it?" She stared into the fire herself and smiled. "I don't either. I think if he could, he would tell us we had it all wrong. There are just too many reasons why I can't accept it." They both locked eyes, ready to say something. Both failed, trying to let one another speak. Her heart pounded, knowing what she was so close to confessing. She slid a little closer to him.

Takeshi couldn't keep his nerves down. Maybe he was overanalyzing the atmosphere, but he swore the smell of lavender was intoxicating him. It was relaxing: Maybe he should have said it. "Yuuki…" A finger was placed over his lips.

"Shh…" Takeshi's adrenaline pumped as she placed the other hand on his. She blushed and moved in closer. "There's no need for words." As she moved in, her finger slowly slid off his mouth as his arm lifted itself. The only thought that could cross his mind was something he wondered the entire day. _What does she taste like?_

"**SHI**-" A voice cut through the atmosphere followed by a few crashing branch sounds. Takeshi instantly guarded Yuuki with his sharingan active. Yuuki prepared to make clones, scanning for the source of the sounds. Utter silence followed and no trace could be detected what so ever.

"Konohamaru-Sensei, wake up!" Within a flash, he was up and in fighting position. "There was a voice and tree branches snapped over there, but no trace of the culprit!" Konohamaru knew if there was no trace after a disturbance, it would be ANBU.

Noriko was up at this point. "It's possible we're being watched by a skilled stealth operative. I've been getting the feeling someone is out there." Konohamaru grunted, seeing as even Noriko may have been catching on to the ANBU '_ghost_'.

They looked to him for a command. He rubbed his eyes. "Well, whoever this guy is, he's doing a TERRIBLE job. We need to keep moving now. We'll be in the village by dawn." The team showed concern as to what this guy was. "Don't worry, he doesn't seem hostile anyways." They smothered the fire and swiftly vacated the area. Destination: Village Hidden in the Rivers.

OoOoOoOo

Isami clung to the tree doing his best to remain undetected. _Oh man, I totally blew it just now. I know it's none of my business, but it is my sister we're talking about._ He glanced up at the tree branches. None were snapped, but at the extreme he was leaning in to watch, he was lucky to have not fallen all the way down. A blunder like that certainly had never happened to the elite ANBU captain before.

-Authors Note-

Where do I start? Obviously a lot of things are revealed, and some of them are addressed. It was tempting to throw in a little scuffle somewhere, but it's all in the not so distant future. If you find grammatical errors or off putting spelling checks I managed to miss (On my usual one hour revision [which usual is immediately after the five straight hours of draft {And usually in the hours of 2000-0200 Which is after a working day of 0700-1700}]) then send me a virtual slap on the wrist. I'm reviewing my previous chapters tomorrow anyways.

Cool, seven chapters down!


	8. Got Chakra?

-Authors Note-

Boom, quick release! Cause I'm fast like lightning, yo. (Gets slapped in the face by my roommate.) Where was I? Oh yeah, Consistencies not my thing lol. Enjoy.

**Chapter 8: Got Chakra?**

"Our village has really come around, hasn't it?" A rather young village leader accepted the envelope with an honest smile. "What would it have been if you never came around, crazy bastard?" The team didn't hesitate to show their surprise. Their sensei chuckled as he scratched his head.

"You give me too much credit." He glanced at his students. "I never did tell you three about my history here. Ten years ago, I helped push a corrupted group out of this village. Ever since then, we've been helping them stay protected. Of course, I stayed here for some time before. This is the leader of the Village Hidden in the Rivers. We also used to be rivals." The two of them grinned as they shook hands.

"So let me get this straight, Uncle-Sensei. You lived here over ten years ago and fought with their leader for stupid competitions? Why are we allowed in this village again?" Konohamaru laughed once more.

"You don't understand how rivalries work, do you? Regardless, that story is for another man is Rekano, the soon-to-be Kyuuryuukage." Stars lit in their eyes at the revelation of this potential sixth great nation. The man rubbed his nose and punched Konohamaru in the arm.

"Come on now, it takes more time than that to become a great nation! I think it'll take at least another year or so. I just hope our village does well in the-"

"Do-ne. Hey, when are we going to get tougher missions anyways?" Two teenage boys walked in and immediately stopped dead in their tracks. The two teams locked eyes. "Rekano-Sama, why are there foreign ninja in here?" His finger pointed directly at Takeshi. "Do you need us to beat him up? He's got a stupid face!" Takeshi looked around before pointing to himself, dumbfounded. "Yes you! What's with that get up? You think you can spread retarded trends or something?" Takeshi looked down at his sleeveless hoodie before glaring back.

"**Enough!" **Everyone shot to attention as Rekano rubbed his temples. "This is Team Seven from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Allow me to introduce Datsu and Kaito." He looked directly at Datsu and narrowed his eyes. "I don't just spawn missions, damn it! Why don't you to go play in the streets?"

Konohamaru looked over the sparks flying between Takeshi and Datsu. "I've got an idea. What about a friendly team spar? It'll keep them busy anyways." Rekano looked over to Konohamaru and smirked. He knew exactly what the kids wanted.

"That's a great idea. I'm curious as to just how much talk this Datsu is. Looks like a loud mouth dumbass to me." Yuuki turned to Takeshi, noticing his normally calm attitude diminishing. It was almost funny how easily Datsu had gotten to him.

"Then get the hell outta here and beat each other up!" Everyone turned to Konohamaru who now made excuses. "Sorry, I haven't smoked in a bit."

The genins all left the room and peace returned once more. An utter lack of noise remained in the room as neither man struck up a conversation. Rekano's face dead panned. "Well this sucks. Talk over a smoke?" He raised his menthol cigarettes up as Konohamaru stuck his tongue out.

"You still have a shitty choice of cigarettes. Of course, it would be rude to decline. Very well."

OoOoOoOo

The group arrived to an open field surrounded by a moderate forest line. Near the edge of it was a lake with a river running off into it. "This is our training grounds. It will be perfect for this fight." Kaito turned to the group and smiled. "Let's try to keep injuries to a minimal, ok?"

Takeshi sized up Datsu. "What's your beef with me? You have something against the Leaf?" Datsu snorted and turned away.

"You don't get it, do you?" Takeshi squinted. "Why do you get to be on a team with two cute girls, and I'm stuck with this guy?" He pointed to Kaito who calmly waved back. "And your arrogance rubs me the wrong way."

"Just shut up! We came here to spar, didn't we? Team Seven: Yuuki, Takeshi and Noriko are your opponents." The two boys looked back to Yuuki and grinned.

"Anyone use weaposns? I would prefer a duel between that one." Kaito looked over the team before catching eyes with Noriko. "You do, don't you? What do you think, one on one?"

Noriko shrugged and drew a single blade. "I accept. Don't underestimate me." The man smiled in glee as they drifted away from the other three.

The sounds of a raging river charged in the background. "Yuuki was it? I look forward to seeing what you can do. Just be careful. I mostly just want to put this prick in line." She twitched an eye at him, making him sigh. "Fine, just don't think our village ninja are push overs. Prepare yourselves!"

Takeshi jumped back and stood in front of Yuuki. He turned to whisper to her. "Shadow clone?" She nodded, giving him a smirk. Without another word, the clone closed the distance between her and Datsu. It began its assault with casual hand jabs and gentle fist style. The man toyed with her, able to parry and sidestep most of it. The clone then dispersed into a cloud of smoke, shocking the man. "Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!"

With a split second of thought, Datsu rolled to the side and escaped the massive fireball. A rain of kunai came down at him and caught him off guard. However, he finished a series of seals and gained a wide base against the charging opponent. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Before Takeshi knew what hit him, a vortex shot out from Datsu's hand and violently thrashed him several meters away. Takeshi struggled to get up. "I'm surprised. You took a B-ranked jutsu and you're still able to get up. However, you're in a miss-match Takeshi. Just give up." Takeshi spit out some blood and gave him a smirk.

"I'm just warming up. Yuuki and I have taken a lot of abuse since we became genin. You should reconsider this fight." Takeshi closed his eyes and relaxed. Suddenly, he thrust them open, revealing the sharingan. "My eyes are different from yours. You'll soon understand you picked a fight with the wrong two genin."

OoOoOoOo

Noriko grunted as he stood there. He was quiet, yet held his posture tall and proud. What was stranger was he hadn't opened his eyes at all. "I'm sorry. It seems I am boring you. You see, it's always good to lose yourself in the environment every once in a while. But, I digress…" He quickly drew a massive sword and shot open his eyes. It was definitely a two-handed sword, yet he carried it in his left hand like it was nothing special. "We came here to cross blades. Words are useless from here on out!" Noriko Braced herself for a formidable charge. In this case, she knew blocking and parrying would be far too risky. Kaito swung the blade fairly quick for using one hand. It came as a low horizontal sweep. Noriko jumped it and prepared for a strike. That is until the blade came full circle and threatened to slice her in half. She slammed her blade into the ground and formed a second jump above the man. To his surprise, she managed to land a kick to his face. It wasn't much to him, but it was enough to make him back step.

"I see you've been doing this for some time. Tell you what, if you stop screwing around, I will to. You switch hands fluently, so I assume you have a second blade, no?" At this point, Noriko knew this young man was definitely no ordinary swordsman. She picked up her sword and drew her smaller blade.

"Perceptive, but I know you are holding back. Your first attack was quite basic, yet the speed you transitioned into the following move was much faster. Are you an inheritor of one of the seven swordsmen?"

The man smiled once more. "Nope, just had a samurai for a father." He slammed his blade in the ground and stretched his arms. "By the way, I'm right-handed."

OoOoOoOo

"Ah, so your finally going to send some genins to the chunin exams." Konohamaru and Rekano discussed several matters, but most of them were just stories. "So you're hoping to demonstrate your nation's skill to help your case as a great nation then?"

Rekano nodded as he exhaled. "Most of the land to the south is pretty defenseless. They come to us for a lot of things, but some still travel all the way to Suna or Konoha for the nasty ones. We are more than capable of handling them, but people look for that 'Great Nation' status. Hell, the people of the village have never been happier, and thanks to Konoha's funding, we've been able to achieve quite the ninja program. We also have a pretty good economy, but it still is a whole lot of political bull." They both inhaled slowly and exhaled sharply. "By the way, I hope your team can handle a bit of rough housing. Datsu is our most skilled ninjutsu genin and Kaito is a better swordsman than most jounin even. They like to work alone, but are a devastating group when together. I just wish they were more open to a third team member."

Konohamaru laughed. "I'm sure they'll be fine. Noriko is an excellent swordsman, and those other two are quite impressive themselves. They're the two I was talking about surviving an assassination attempt. The girl is an Uzumaki with the byakugan, and the boy is an Uchiha."

Rekano laughed as he flicked away the cigarette butt. "I see. Datsu will probably be excited about that, aside from the fact that he has no clue what those are. He'll probably still win if he figures them out. If the Uzumaki girl is anything like her father, he can probably relate to her like a clone. I'm just worried about Kaito taking a challenge too far. He doesn't usually get along with anyone." Rekano looked at his shadow and seemed to jolt. "Oh man, I completely forgot about the meeting. Its noon already, I goota run. Keep me posted, would you?"

Konohamaru lost himself in his own thoughts at that point. _Takeshi seemed to really be bothered by that loud mouth kid. Hopefully he doesn't do anything too reckless. _He sighed and walked for the training field. "He did say it was this way, right? I've got nothing better to do anyways."

Once he made his way into a more secluded area, a man suddenly appeared in his face. "Yo!" Rolling off instinct alone, he punched him square in the jaw. It poofed away in smoke, letting Konohamaru piece the puzzle together. "God damn it Isami! I should have known you'd be the only ANBU for this team. And now it makes since why you almost blew your cover last night. What was Yuuki doing?" He turned around to see Isami picking at his ear and ignoring him completely.

"Better than that, you should be watching these fights. It should be getting ugly about now. Oh, and we'll talk later, it's important to the mission we catch these fights…and all that stuff." Konohamaru's eye twitched, before becoming more serious.

"There are two fights? I told them to team spar. Damn kids now-a-days."

"Be glad they didn't. This Kaito guy's dad is an ex-samurai and that would be disastrous used in a thick mist. Just look for yourself."

OoOoOoOo

"How many defensive jutsus does this guy know?" Yuuki and Takeshi were both giving Datsu a run for his money, but his prowess of water jutsus were unpredictable and effective. Datsu himself was starting to sweat, knowing his it was only a matter of time before they found a way through his plan. On top of that, it was virtually impossible to get a clean hit on them since their eyes had changed.

"Alright, that's enough of a warm up. Kirigakure no jutsu!" Before they knew what happened, a blinding fog came over them. "You two rely on your eyes to enlighten you on the enemies where about. I have no need for that. Mostly because I'm a badass." Takeshi jumped up high out of the fog, but was quickly smashed back to the ground by Datsu. "As if I'd let you escape so easily!" Takeshi went to try again, but was pulled to his ass by Yuuki.

"What are you doing?" they laid low to the ground and didn't move. Yuuki sighed. "My byakugan still works just fine. It's a little hazy, but pretty simple to make out people. Why are you letting this guy get to you?"

Takeshi took a minute to think about it. There really wasn't a particular reason to let this guy annoy him into making mistakes. "It may sound strange, but it's actually pretty fun. That's really all I got."

She bonked him on the head. "Stupid boys. It shouldn't be fun getting trampled over."

"I may be taking physical damage, but he's taking damage as well. Think of all the chakra he's used. It's gotta be low." She bonked him on the head with a little more force this time. "Ow, what?"

"This is you and me against him, right? Well, could I step in and help anytime soon, or would you rather me sit on the sidelines?" Takeshi stared at her, knowing that he hadn't really been using her teamwork since the first charge.

"Wise choice not coming back out. What are you, scared? 'Oh no, I can't see anything! Hopefully if we give up he'll have mercy on us.' Haha!" Takeshi rolled his eyes.

"Sorry Yuuki, I'll let you do what you do best. Just let me know how I can help." She smiled and hugged him.

"Good choice! All you need to do is sit here and look pretty. When the jutsu is canceled, wind up for the hardest punch you have. I'll take care of the rest. He is bluffing after all." Takeshi smiled as she stood up. It seems she was always getting him out of these terrible situations now.

She made twelve shadow clones and scattered them into the fog. Datsu was still trying to get one of them to talk. "It's useless to hide from me. My awesomeness is going to overwhelm you…" Yuuki began to sneak up on him as he started cautiously roam the fog. "Alright, fine! I admit it; I can't fight that well in the mist. But that doesn't mean I'll let you hide in it all day! You can't see, and that means you can't fight!"

As he started making a cone to his ear, Yuuki prepared her attack. She focused chakra in her fingers and grew a devious smile. "Boo!" Her voice and the finger jabs scared Datsu like a school girl. As his arm flopped down his eyes were glued open.

"What the hell? What'd you do to my arm?" Yuuki and her clones began laughing hysterically, making him attempt to run out of the fog. Every time he ended up with another finger jab and felt his body slowly giving up. "How do you know where I'm going?"

"I can see."

"Bullshit!" She jabbed him in the back. "OK, fine. Maybe you can."

"I have the Byakugan. It shows me your chakra coils and most of the chakra points in them. Every little jab I do is called gentle fist, and they can disable chakra flow. You really can't win in this mist."

Datsu backed away. "I still have one hand free. I can at least release this. I'll kick you down if I have to, but it'd be a shame. Release!"

Yuuki smiled as she dispersed all but one of her clones. As it thinned out, he noticed two figures. "You shouldn't show pity on me, I'll find a way to win. He began making seals with one hand, but stopped win he noticed Takeshi wasn't one of the figures. The confusion got to him as he saw double. "Hey, where's pretty boy?"

"You'll see him soon enough." Yuuki and her clone widened their base and thrust their arms forward in a combined technique. "Eight Trigrams Empty Wall Palm!" Standing a couple meters away, at first he was ready to laugh. That all changed when he felt powerful stings rip his insides and send him flying away. He braced himself for the chance of hitting a tree, but he soon saw where this was going.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-" Takeshi wound up and slammed Datsu in the face, effectively silencing him.

Takeshi smiled as he waved the pain off his hand. "Man that guy has a hard head. You're right Yuuki, winning is a lot more fun than getting thrashed." They shared a quick high five and made sure they didn't kill Datsu.

OoOoOoOo

"You're a quick one, aren't you? It's not usual for a fight to last this long. It would be more fun if you weren't so conflicted." Noriko maintained her stance, starting to feel the weight of her swords.

"What are you trying to say? I know exactly what I'm doing. Mental warfare doesn't work on me."

Kaito thrust his sword in the ground. "Your skill is unquestionable with two blades. It's almost inspiring. However, when swords clash, you begin to understand each other. Something is leaving you conflicted, such as two sides fighting in your sub-conscious. I admit your skill; you can take the victory for now."

Noriko knew she was outclassed, yet this guy seemed to be taking it easy on her. She resented it. "I will never accept a pitiful victory. I can't." In a last ditch move, she charged the boy in hopes of at least scratching him. Kaito let out a sigh. Noriko slashed low and spun into an attack with the short sword. He dodged the attack with a jump, and at the same time he picked up his sword. Flowing off her last attack, she backflipped in the air and rapidly thrashed at him. He smiled as he parried her blow for blow. Kaito grabbed his sword with both hands now and aggressively smashed the blades out of her hands. Stunned by the sheer power, he easily swung her to the ground and used gravity to come down on her with the finisher. The massive blade was within inches and closing on her face.

Knowing the point was proven, Kaito froze his blade with the tip practically resting on her face. Never once did her eyes close, but her hands remained sprawled out and lame. They both remained there, him on top of her and not a visible emotion between either of them. Kaito finally slammed his sword in the ground next to her head and got up. "I guess I'll take the victory then." He extended his hand out to help her up. "My sword is my strongest ally. It was two against one." Noriko never said another word after that; just accepted his help and stared to the ground. As he returned his sword, he walked back towards the group. "Hey Noriko, you should smile more often. At least while your here anyways."

The minute he was out of sight she picked up her swords and looked towards his direction. "There's something about that guy…" Noriko sheathed her swords and walked his way. Although she'd lost the fight, she wore a gentle smile.

OoOoOoOo

Kaito arrived to a passed out teammate and two grins meeting him. "Well this is a surprise; it looks like Datsu is actually out cold. You'll have to teach me how to make him do that sometime."

Yuuki searched around Kaito to see Noriko far behind him. "So how badly did she hurt you? Noriko doesn't know what going easy is." The boy rubbed his head.

"I just hope she's ok mentally. She's quite good, but it must have been frustrating to not even scratch me." Yuuki tilted her head before realizing Noriko must have lost big time. "Don't worry, I didn't scratch her either."

Takeshi stepped forward. "So wait a minute, she actually lost? But there's no way you could have swung that massive blade quick enough." As she arrived on scene, Yuuki and Takeshi prepared for an awkward conversation.

"What the hell you two? I know he was a loud mouth, but you didn't have to kill him. Now I have to waste my time healing this buffoon." Yuuki and Noriko caught eyes, and to her shock, Noriko didn't seem upset at all. She actually appeared more relieved than anything.

She narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, well at least we won. You look like shit." Takeshi muffled Yuuki before another fight broke out, but Noriko casually blew it off and began healing Datsu.

"You're completely soaked with water, so who really wins in this case?" Takeshi refused to let her counter, yet now they both knew Noriko didn't mind losing to Kaito. Not even a second later, Datsu shot up in shock.

"What the hell?" He stared at Noriko, who refrained from further healing him. She held an ice cold stare. He turned to Takeshi and snarled. "You! Haven't you heard of a fair fight? This is not ove-" Noriko pinched his neck, making him pass out once more and continued healing.

Takeshi attempted to protest her method. "Was that necessary Noriko? I didn't get a chance to explain myself." With a sharp turn of her head, he bit his tongue. Her ice cold stare was could silence a tailed beast.

"I wasn't done healing him, that's all. Would you like me to heal you next?" A shiver shot down his spine and he nervously laughed it off.

OoOoOoOo

"So what are you thinking? Pretty impressive, right?" Konohamaru considered the fight between everyone. Isami was boasting the ability of his sister the entire time. "It's not that she's my sister either, it's how well she compliments their skills. Plus, she's my sister! I'm telling you, she's the next me!"

"It's too early to say, but I've got to admit you've got a point. Compared to the Yuuki I knew before the attack, she's nn a completely different league. You think I should do the tree climb thing?" He scratched the stubble of his beard. "Noriko seems to relate well with Kaito there."

"Well, don't undercut them. I'll bet they will all be able to master tree climbing AND water walking in two days. Then teach some of those water jutsus to Yuuki." Konohamaru narrowed his eyes in thought. "Trust me, it'll be a good move. It's gonna happen. By the way, she knows you were watching. I was cloaking myself, so…peace out!" A swarm of leaves swatted Konohamaru in the face and extinguished his cigarette.

"Asshole!" He covered his mouth and looked back to see Yuuki cross-armed and right in front of him.

"Working hard are we? Who were you talking to?" He laughed, playing off an ignorant persona.

Noriko finished her bandaging of Datsu and slapped him awake. "You can argue now."

"Hey!" As he stood up, he noticed the pain was completely gone. He looked over himself with a thankful mood, but quickly began losing confidence. He'd never really lost a fight against other genin before. The two that had flipped his momentum so easily were just casually trading stories with their sensei. He could only clench his fist and turn away.

"Wait up, loud mouth." Datsu stopped and swiveled his head a little. "Next time, the rules will be you and me only." Yuuki grabbed Takeshi's arm and gave him a confused look. He gave her a reassuring smirk. "In the meantime, you think you could help us with a few things? You have nothing better to do."

Datsu turned with a gloating smirk and his arms crossed. "Where do you get off, talking like that? I only fight one on one with guys on my level." He looked to Kaito who returned to him a sigh. It was his chance to get some confidence back. Besides, he really didn't have anything better to do. Takeshi waited in anticipation for his response. "I guess there's no helping it. I can't let you get shown up by these girls."

Datsu walked over and extended his hand to Takeshi with a wild grin. Takeshi returned the courtesy and they began squeezing harder and harder, trying to one up each other. Konohamaru put his hands on their shoulders to interrupt them.

"Perfect! Like I said before, you three are going to learn tree climbing and water walking. Would you two care to demonstrate for them?" Datsu waved his hand and stood next to a tree.

"It's easy, you just focus chakra in your feet and…" As he began walking up the tree, he suddenly split the tree in half and face planted. Just about everyone facepalmed. Datsu got up laughing. "Oh yeah, I'm not very good at it. Using too much chakra will be a bad thing."

Kaito casually walked up to another tree. "The key is to maintain a constant balance between chakra levels." Walking up the tree was effortless for him, and he even suspended himself upside down. "Use too much, and the tree will crumble. Use too little, and you will slip right off. I think Datsu may want to join you this session." Datsu scoffed at him as he dusted himself off.

"Alright, I'm going to get to the top of that tree faster than anyone!" Yuuki ran to a tree and tried to her luck. The result was worse than Datsu's, literally exploding the base of the tree upon impact. Their jaws dropped as they braced for the debris. After everyone returned from cover, Yuuki calmly scratched her chin in thought. "Maybe I used too much chakra."

"As if that wasn't obvious, you big ape!" Yuuki tensed up, knowing her voice came from above. Noriko stood high atop a tree with her typical bored face. "Well, what's next?" Not wanting to be left out, Takeshi attempted to be gentle with his chakra and made it a few feet up before slipping down.

Kaito dropped to the ground and gestured for her to follow. Noriko shrugged and complied with him. Konohamaru leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. "You know what you have to do; I'll be here if you need me." He slid his headband over his eyes and sat down. "Do me a favor and don't need me."

The remaining three stared at him blankly before moving back to business. "Hey, how about the last one to the top does whatever the first one to the top says. Makes it interesting, no?"

"I'm game, but first I have to ask…how are you not out of chakra? You were spamming jutsus all day." Both Takeshi's and Yuuki's eyes waited, demanding an answer. Datsu didn't even hesitate to give them his answer.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm the main character!" His response practically gave the two aneurisms due to the sheer stupidity. "I got to give the girl props though; I've never seen a tree explode like that before. To answer your question seriously, I don't know. No matter how many jutsus I use, my chakra never seems to cave in. It means I'm going to play a significant role in the future, right?" Takeshi pushed his face away and prepared himself for a long afternoon of climbing. He seemed to have the best shot at reaching the top first.

OoOoOoOo

"This is obviously the more difficult stage, but still not as hard as medical ninjutsu." Noriko and Kaito stared at each other on the river. He let out a chuckle as he drew his sword.

"I can see you know chakra control by the back of your hand. Now let's see if you can use it well with your sword." It didn't seem to bother her to be pulled into another spar. She drew her blades and channeled chakra into her hands. Although it had made sense, she never thought to do it. Kaito gave her a swift swinging uppercut to knock her blades away. Instead, she crossed them into a defense with as much chakra as possible. Kaito's eyes sparked open as he was unable to move his sword from her's. "That's unexpected. You have chakra blades."

Noriko herself had no idea, but they shined a bluish tint. "It wasn't difficult at all to block your swing. What a foolish provision I overlooked." They stood on the water as he sheathed his sword.

"This changes things all together. Do you know what your chakra affinity is?" She gave him a wincing eye, indicating no. "I see…take a break, I'll be back in a half-hour." The boy held quite an enthusiastic face as he left. Noriko wanted to stop him, but she couldn't muster the courage to do so. She walked to the shore line and plopped down. Once more a smile grew on her face. This guy was like organized chaos, and she liked it.

OoOoOoOo

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Yuuki summoned nine clones. Datsu practically screamed in excitement.

"That's it! That's the jutsu I was wondering about. How do they work?" Yuuki grinned at him as her clones began climbing trees.

"Well, basically they're all me. It divides however much chakra you want it to, and makes real, physical, learning copies of the original. Since there are ten of us, I can do an hour of training in six minutes." Datsu might as well have been shooting stars out of his eyes. Takeshi took this time to run higher and higher.

"You have to teach me that technique! I'll do anything for it!" Yuuki placed a finger under her lips and glanced to the sky.

"Hmm…how many jutsus is it worth to you?" Datsu's jaw dropped as she smiled. "Oh come on! It's a fair trade. How about you teach me that water vortex jutsu. You can create many more clones than just nine by the way."

Datsu took a minute to think about it before realizing the answer was obvious. "You got yourself a deal. We'll work on it after this." The two shook hands and turned to their own trees. Yuuki took no time to disperse the clones and give it another shot. This time, she shot up the tree and happily rested on the top, laughing at the other two. Datsu's jaw dropped again, seeing the technique was legit.

"You're falling behind, loud mouth." Takeshi made a dash for the tree with a confident smile, racing quickly up and just managing to reach the top. Once he settled, he began making obscene gestures. "Hell yeah! Suck on it, loser!" Takeshi froze and looked over to Yuuki, who was giving him the thousand yard stare. He cleared his throat and climbed back down. "So yeah, I guess you're last then…"

"You've got to be kidding me! Convenient how you two managed to pull that off so easily." He turned to Yuuki. "Well, we might as well begin our deal now, seeing as I'm last."

"Oh no, you have to do what I say, remember?" Yuuki's devious smile turned to her sleeping uncle. "See that bum over there? Demonstrate the jutsu on him for me." Datsu raised an eyebrow before smiling.

"Easy enough, it won't be the first old man I've pissed off. I figured you were gonna ask for a kiss." Yuuki's face grew red as the boy prepared three hand seals. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" A torrent of water came spiraling from his palm. It picked up Konohamaru and threw him a few meters. The man laid there for a minute, calmly searching his pocket. After checking the status of his cigarettes, he leaned up with fire in his eyes.

"What the hell is that? You wanna fight, punk?" He stopped rolling up his sleeve when he noticed Yuuki laughing uncontrollably. Konohamaru grunted as he rubbed some of the water out of his hair. "I'm going to go watch Noriko train. Have you guys finished tree climbing?" They nodded. "Then we'll work on water walking for a little. Or not. I don't care what you do, just stop with the pranks."

"I'm going ahead, Yuuki. Are you staying back?" Takeshi knew her answer, but he asked for the general purpose.

"Yeah, I'll meet up with you in about ten minutes. You'll have to fill me in on the basics later, so don't slack off. Try not to miss me." She gave him a wink that made him laugh as he pocketed his hands

"As if…" Datsu shifted his eyes between the two before crossing his arms. Takeshi followed his sensei towards the river without another word.

"So, here's the thing. All I want to know is the basic concept and hand seal of the technique. I prefer learning jutsus my own way. After you tell me, I'll be off to study it." He waited for her to show him what he wanted, yet she yawned it off.

"I'm surprised you know what studying is."

"I'm surprised you still haven't asked for that kiss."

She rolled her eyes."Your jutsu first, Datsu. That would be the gentlemen thing to do." Knowing she was basically haggling with him, he laughed.

"Well alright. Pay attention." He carefully explained the three simple hand seals to her. After that, he explained the general motion of her palm. "It's not so simple though. It's a B-ranked jutsu after all. It'll take some practice. Your turn now."

Yuuki showed her appreciation through a smile. "Well, all you have to do is this hand seal. Then you just have to imagine manifesting your chakra into physical matter. By the way, this can be an A-Rank Jutsu. Simple, huh?"

"Well, I'll catch you around Yuuki. I'll have this mastered by tonight. You better use that technique properly." It wasn't too potent, but he smelt a pleasant sent as he moved passed her. What it was, he couldn't place his fingers on, but it helped him relax.

OoOoOoOo

The sun was starting to get low, and the wind began to let up. She closed her eyes and absorbed the scenery. However, Noriko rose at the sound of someone right next to her. "Lost in the moment were you?" Kaito handed her a piece of square paper. She glanced over it a few times before looking back to him. "No doubt you're confused. It's a special chakra paper. Just channel your chakra into it."

Noriko placed her hands over it and did as she was told. As she did, she felt a strange reaction to it. She lifted her hand and both of them became shocked. At first, it crumpled, and then it split in two. She looked back to Kaito who was thinking quite intently. "So, was that supposed to happen?"

"You really are quite impressive. This means you are primarily a lightning affinity user, but also a very close second with wind chakra. In a nutshell, you have the tools to become one of the greatest swordsmen seen in some time." She looked back to the paper and felt a shiver run down her spine. _Are chakra swords really this good? _"Unfortunately, that's all I can help you with. I have no chakra affinity." Kaito smiled as he channeled his chakra into a piece. Nothing happened at all. Noriko couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but it made sense why he had become so good at the blade.

"Well would you look at that. Most ninja only have one affinity show on paper." Konohamaru pushed a branch out of his way and approached the two genins. "Those chakra cards aren't exactly easy to come by. Who did you get them from?" Kaito pulled out several of them.

"These are actually grown in large quantities in our village. Getting to your surprise, I was more shocked at the natures themselves as I was with the multiple natures. Actually, it is quite common to see two natures from the cards here. I figured we could give your team an idea of what kind of nature they should train with. Here, see for yourself."

Kaito handed Takeshi and Konohamaru a card. Takeshi looked up to Konohamaru in confusion. "So, you just channel chakra into them and it tells you what you're good at?" Konohamaru smiled as he demonstrated. His card split in two, one half catching fire and the other half crumpling. The group showed their surprise.

"Well, I didn't think it would pick up the lightning, but I guess you know now. I am primarily wind, secondarily fire, and a little bit lightning natured." As they basked in his glory, Konohamaru stood a bit taller. "Let's see what you have Takeshi. My money's on fire."

"Well that's probably obvious." As he concentrated his chakra into the paper, it quickly turned to dust, then combusted. Konohamaru started coughing on his smoke. "What's that mean, sensei?"

"Your primary chakra nature is earth, then fire." Konohamaru regained his breath. "Sorry, I just never saw earth element coming from an Uchiha. It makes me wonder what Yuuki's affinity is." Everyone glanced towards the direction she was. "My money's on wind."

OoOoOoOo

"Grr, fifteen clones isn't getting the job done." One of the clones sarcastically squirted her with a trickle of water. "That's it!" Yuuki dispersed the clones and clenched her fist. She knew what she was about to do was risky, but it hadn't done too much harm in the experiments she ran. As long as she wasn't using her byakugan, it'd be fine. "Tajuu kage bunshin no jutsu!" Within seconds, around one-hundred clones spawned. She stretched around for a little bit before gaining confidence. "Alright everyone, our goal is to figure this out in five minutes. Don't try it more than three times per clone. Let's do this!" The crowd raised their fist in enthusiasm.

_That's going overboard, Yuuki! _Lurking in the trees, Isami watched his sister. At the moment, he was powerless to warn her or even help her. _Still, her chakra pool is already around two thirds the size of dad's. Maybe she can do this. _Regardless of the outcome, Isami prepared to step in if she passed out.

"Alright, who hasn't used their three yet? I saw some good looking progress out there." None of the clones raised their hands. "Cool, we have three minutes left. Everyone disperse, one at a time. I don't need information overload." The clones sporadically dispersed at more of a rate of ten per five seconds. As the last group dispersed, Yuuki immediately began to feel the dizziness. Her hands tingled and body felt ready to keel over. She forced herself up and ignited a flame within. "Not yet!"

She forced out three hand seals and thrust her palm out. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" A powerful vortex spawned from her palm and was even controllable to an extent. She crashed it through a couple of trees before it diminished. Her hands fell too her knees, breathing heavily. Forcing a smile, she mustered the strength to mumble a few words. "Wasn't…so hard." It wasn't long before her knees gave out and she was unconscious.

"Idiot!" Isami knelt next to her and immediately began an advanced chakra transfer. "If I weren't here, you'd have been out for days at best." Using his byakugan, he forced open all of her chakra points and rushed his own chakra through her system. Satisfied the job was done, Isami placed a ration on her stomach and prepared to leave. "We'll talk when the time is right, little sister."

He vanished in a swarm of leaves as she awoke. Leaning up, she rubbed her head. "Guess I went a little overboard there." She finally noticed the ration of food in her lap, making her look around. Deciding not question a good thing, she began shoveling down and headed towards the river. By gut instinct, she stopped. Yuuki glanced back to the forest line as she swallowed, feeling someone familiar. "Isami?" The wind gusted and there was no trace of anyone to be found.

OoOoOoOo

"There you are! it's about time!" Yuuki swallowed the rest of her ration and gave them a confused expression. "Don't ask questions; just put your chakra into this piece of paper." Again, she didn't share the same thrill Takeshi seemed to, but she did as he said. As she did, both Konohamaru and Noriko leaned in and watched carefully. What they saw left them all in shock. Konohamaru didn't even try to catch his cigarette as it fell to the ground. "What the hell?" Even though Yuuki was oblivious to what it meant, all she could do was stare.

In the forest line, Isami jolted around with excitement. _I knew it! I freaking called it! Dad can suck it!_

-Authors Note-

Oh come on! What kind of cliché cliffhanger is that? Well, it seems I couldn't help but punch out another chapter here. Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying the character developments and this chakra nature scene at the end was one I've been waiting patiently to add since chapter one. I almost want to get the next chapter out there and start rolling into some serious action, but we'll just have to be patient, now won't we. ^_^ Peace out yo!


	9. Finding The Answers

-Author's note-

A lot happened last chapter, and a lot happened in between chapter 8 and chapter 9 for me. Believe me when I say this chapter is HUGE for the story. I'd just like to stop and say writing is freaking addicting. I find myself forgetting to SMOKE when I write this story *and other's that are in the making ;)*

**Chapter 9: Finding the Answers**

At first it was nothing special. When she focused her chakra into it, the paper split in two. Next, the pieces became soggy. After that, something peculiar happened: It completely froze over. No matter how Konohamaru looked at it, her chakra was showing signs of the ice-release. "That should be…impossible."

Even Kaito hadn't seen this before. "Is that a kekkei genkai?" Yuuki looked up to the group and shifted her eyes around. They were all transfixed on this weird square of paper. Konohamaru rubbed his stubbed beard in wonder.

"Umm, a wakka whatkai? Is this supposed to happen?" Takeshi and Noriko began looking at the remainder of their cards and sighed.

"I don't think so. Well, I mean it doesn't make sense." He was struggling to find the words. "You have wind and water natures, but it would appear that you have the ability to form the advanced nature of ice. It's supposed to be a genetic trait though."

"So, according to this piece of paper, I could theoretically make ice jutsus? Does that mean Isami and dad can to?" Yuuki tried to make sense of what he was telling her.

"No, neither of them can, and not even the Fourth Hokage could. In fact, your father fought the last of the ice-users on his first C-Ranked mission. I don't remember the kid's name, but he wasn't known to have any relation to your father. That's exactly why this should be impossible; that boy was killed in the fight." Konohamaru rubbed his head, not knowing what to think about it. "That also means no one can help you figure this out if it is true."

Yuuki stared at the frozen pieces of paper. That was really all she could do. She was just learning a water jutsu a minute ago, and now she was being told there's this ice-jutsu no one but her could do. Where do you go from this point?

"Well, if no one can help, you'll just have to figure it out the hard way, right?" She looked up to Takeshi, who was giving her a rare grin. "However, if you fall behind in the basics, you might as well have nothing. I can't afford to give you slack anymore, now can I?" Konohamaru laughed on the inside; hearing such a simple truth. "I'm going to master walking on water, then I'm gonna beat the snot out of Datsu. Take it one step at a time." Takeshi focused chakra in his feet and ran to the river. When he made contact, he felt himself trip and face plant in the water.

Everyone's face dead panned before a thunderous laughter broke out. The reserved Kaito even fell prey to a snicker. Takeshi surfaced and joined in on the laughter. Inside, Yuuki knew he was just trying to keep her from getting stressed in the moment. "I think you ran out of slack a long time ago, bud."

Isami put on his wolf mask and finished writing the findings. He neatly tucked away the scroll and placed his hand on the ground. "Gotta admit, this is information overload. Even for me. Better spread the word." In the blink of an eye, the ANBU ghost disappeared. This time, not a single leaf was disturbed.

OoOoOoOo

Sunset had come and passed. With a cold wind sweeping through, Team Seven withdrew from the water walking exercise. They arrived in a rather charitable hotel and took some time to relax. The girls and guys were given their own rooms. It wasn't too long until the exhausted kids rested their worries away. Konohamaru gently stepped outside to smoke.

"Ready to get this over with?" Isami approached the man and leaned his back against the railing. Konohamaru continued his break, just staring forward.

"You saw it, right? How is it possible?" Isami rubbed his hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Well, I doubt kekkei genkais always belonged to a set clan. Who says someone can't achieve one with a few generations of hard work?" Konohamaru narrowed his eyes to him as he inhaled. Isami turned forward and looked off the balcony. "Nothing is impossible. Dad trained himself in insane ways we couldn't even comprehend. When he learned of his affinity to water, he worked mercilessly to master it. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could never create an ice release. Do you know how many years he could have accumulated with a thousand clones? Just consider what a total of one year of that adds up to. We're talking countless of generations attempting to mesh the two. He may have deemed it impossible, but I believe he managed to work a passive skill straight into his genes." He laughed at the thought of such an insane possibility. "He had five years after I was born to do it. Probably could explain Yuuki's freakish chakra pool also."

Konohamaru flicked his cigarette away. "You know, I can believe that genius title you've held for so long. It's really a pretty solid theory." He then turned to see Isami attempting to balance two kunai on his nose. One of them slipped off and landed tip first on his eye. Konohamaru panicked as Isami began screaming in pain. "Holy shit! Are you stupid?" As he desperately attempted to help him, Isami turned to him laughing.

"Saved it with chakra! That was close, huh?" The tip rested on his eye as visible chakra held it in place. His uncle gritted his teeth as his eyes twitched.

"This is why you have the reputation of an idiot. You two are the reason I smoke, and you're not even my kids, damn it!" Isami grinned as he grabbed his kunai and pocketed them. He gestured Konohamaru to follow him.

"I like it that way. Who wants to be the serious smart guy anyways? I'll be a happy goof every day of my life, as long as I have the strength to do my part. Gotta have fun while I can, anyways." In his head, Konohamaru smiled at the man Isami had become. He only hoped his daughter Kumi would end up more like Yuuki.

OoOoOoOo

They arrived upon a battered used-to-be fortress held by the former Akatsuki revival effort. Just the sight of it brought back memories he'd rather forget. Konohamaru rubbed the wall near the entrance, knowing it was where he'd lost a good friend. Isami activated his byakugan and proceeded through the wreckage. Finally, they worked their way to where it all happened. Flashbacks hit him forcefully.

OoOo

"See? The Seventh Hokage triumphs once more! We've pushed them back, now it's time we ended this!" A hot shot jounin ran ahead, taunting his team to follow if they could.

"You're twenty-seven years old, Konohamaru. Act your age, you dumbass!" Rekano proceeded to give chase.

"You're both a couple idiots!" The woman looked behind her to a snot nosed man. "Hurry up, Udon! Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get themselves into." Just seeing his face made her smile.

Udon scanned the fortress as he caught up. "It's too simple, Moegi. He knows better than to run ahead without thinking! I'm sure if he gave me time to do some math, I could figure it out." She stopped him for a moment.

"Udon, there's something you should know." She stared in his eyes as he put a hand on her shoulder. Udon waited intently for what she was going to say. Moegi looked away, not being able to muster the courage to tell him. "Never mind. I can tell you after we're done here. We need to get back to the group." He rubbed her arm and smiled before taking off.

Upon catching up, they saw Konohamaru and Rekano cautiously approach the center of a massive, circular room. Rekano put a hand on Konohamaru's scarf. "Something's off. Wait."

Konohamaru knew it was fishy, but he also knew he was the leader. "We can't afford to let these guys escape. We owe it to everyone to continue." Taking one step forward, he ignorantly triggered a sudden trap. Both he and Rekano became stuck in a transparent chakra that prohibited movement. Moegi and Udon got in a fighting stance immediately.

"You dumbasses, I told you!" Udon quickly tossed her out of the way as a blade shot up through the ground.

"This isn't the most ideal situation, but it'll do. Prepare to die." A masked ninja rose through the ground with his arms crossed and a blade in each hand. Udon drew a kunai and searched for his options. "Hurry and decide, that chakra barrier resonates with their own chakra and drains it." He made a slurping sound followed by a cackle.

As the man moved underground, several swords began shooting at them. Udon shuffled in his head for an answer while parrying the blades. With his brain power, the solution came easily. "Moegi, try disrupting the resonant frequency with your medical jutsu! I've already run the calculation, it'll work!" Udon made a hand seal and extended his snot to capture the man's arms and blades.

"Nice one, Udon." She turned to Rekano and used her jutsu. As the barrier blasted away, a powerful wind blew. Seeing Rekano free, she smirked. "Honestly, you wouldn't last a minute without us." She channeled chakra into Konohamaru's barrier as they shared a grin.

"I'll finish this bastard off." Rekano punched his arms down and a wild water chakra raged around them. Udon tried his best to hold the jutsu in place, but the man simply cackled once more.

"Whoopsies." It was as if he was toying with them. As Moegi released his barrier, Konohamaru was showered in blood. The blade had pierced into her back through her chest. Unable to comprehend what had just happened, all he could do was stare. And the eyes! They burned themselves into Konohamaru's head. Just the sheer confusion and terror haunted him.

"Not now…" Her arms jittered to her stomach underneath the blade. Tears fell as she looked down. "Udon…I'm…" A second blade pierced through her heart as another masked man suspended her in the air. Rekano thrust forward and grabbed the man from the snot by the face. He swiftly planted him against the wall and allowed his water to do the rest. Udon's rage sent him sprinting for Moegi.

Konohamaru knew one thing and one thing only: This man was going to regret every second of his life. He slammed his fist down and summoned Enma the monkey king. Without hesitation, Enma transformed into the diamond hard staff. The psychotic man threw Moegi at Udon and leapt back. "How sad, looks like she was two kills in one." Udon's hands covered her wounds and tears rolled out. "We were supposed to be leaders of the New Akatsuki! That is, until you and that cursed Hokage killed all my men. Now you have the balls to kill my brother?" Rekano dropped the lifeless brother and stared daggers through the man. The mysterious ninja exploded in a deafening, winged flame. "Remember the name well!" The man paused as he drifted into the ground.

OoOo

"Guden!" Isami drew a kunai and extended it in his left arm. His right arm instantly dropped and formed a rasengan. His byakugan searched everywhere for him.

"Where damn it, where?" Konohamaru shook himself into reality. He began stepping forward, making Isami tilt his head in confusion.

"Turn over every god damn stone. He was the one who murdered my closest friends. In this very place!" The news shocked Isami. He had no idea what to say to his uncle, so he said nothing. "It was hard to hear him, but there's not a single doubt in my mind anymore!" Konohamaru's fist shook.

"We've got a few more days. I know it's hard, but we should be patient. Priority right now is to let my father know. Let's return tomorrow and tear this place apart." Isami put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Let's do them a favor and keep everyone else protected." Konohamaru's eyes refused to lift, but he gave a gentle nod. _Guden. Just what was this man?_

OoOoOoOo

"Everyone up! Time to get started." Yuuki shot up and tried to adjust her eyes. He practically blinded her as he parted the shades.

"Would it kill anyone in this family to let me wake up on my own?" He grinned.

"Well, it's already an hour passed sunrise. At you're rate, the sun would be setting as you woke. Let's hurry up and work on your water walking."

The team arrived at the river to find Kaito meditating. He moved his head to them with a face of no emotion. "Hey, sorry if we're bothering you. Just looking to do some training." Konohamaru felt awkward with the silence that followed.

"It's no bother. In fact, I was counting on it. If there no objections, would you mind if I trained with Noriko?" Yuuki looked at Noriko who had a hint of a blush. She prodded her with her elbow and winked. Noriko stepped on her foot and began to move forward. Konohamaru shrugged.

"Yeah, I've got nothing for her. She kind of destroyed my lesson schedule anyways." The two left without words. Konohamaru turned to the remaining two and smiled. "Alright, listen up. As you may have already noticed, water walking is a completely different game. Remember to adjust your chakra for the flow of the water and don't worry so much about falling in. Just keep that in mind and you should be able to master it quickly." Yuuki raised an eyebrow at how helpful he was being.

"It's odd for you to be so constructive. Did something happen?" Konohamaru grinned at her, which was even more off putting. "Never mind. I'll find out one way or another."

The two of them stepped to the edge and focused their chakra. Yesterday they were able to take several seconds before falling in, but today they had a relaxed confidence about them. Slowly, they walked out to the middle and wobbled around. Both of them focused on the flow of the water and pictured a natural balance in themselves. Yuuki turned to Takeshi and smirked. "Easy as pie, huh?" Now she gave him a stern push, knocking him off balance. To Konohamaru's surprise, he was able to keep himself afloat.

"You two snuck out, didn't you?" He grew a hint of anger. "You can't be reckless like that! What if you were attacked again?"

Yuuki snorted. "I don't know what Takeshi did, but I used the bath water to do it. Not reckless at all." Konohamaru's jaw dropped; he never really thought of it before.

Takeshi rubbed his neck. "Yeah, same here. Nothing to it. You get used to the still water, then drain it to get a few seconds of running water.

He lit up a cigarette. "Damn kids. Now what am I supposed to do today?" Yuuki twiddled her thumbs a little.

"Actually, I thought up an idea for myself yesterday. Do you care if I train alone? I won't be too far away." Konohamaru felt his teaching momentum leave his sails.

"Hey, you could give me some tips then. I could use a little revamp in style." Takeshi stepped forward to his sensei. "Besides, I'm sure you're tired of coaching from the sidelines." He scratched his beard and nodded his head, subtly shifting his eyes to the forest line.

"Well, I doubt I can stop Yuuki from doing what she wants. What the hell, why not." She giggled with a satisfied face before she took off.

"Thank you, Konohamaru-Uncle-Sensei!" He bent his head down at her formal informality.

Takeshi grew a lot more serious when she was out of sight. "Sensei, I'm going to be frank; I feel like I'm the weak link in this team." He looked down in shame. "Those two are freaks of nature, and I just want to level with them without using my sharingan." Konohamaru blew smoke in his face, making him lose his calm demeanor. "Hey, what the hell was that for?"

"That's for being an idiot! You have good intentions, but you'll never catch up thinking like that. You have the sharingan, and like it or not, it can seriously compliment your style. It's foolish to flash it at the start of a battle, or even rely on it. However, training wisely with it can give you that hard work feeling and rapid growth." Takeshi looked away, knowing how others saw the sharingan. It was a shortcut to becoming a 'genius'. He almost wished he never had it. Konohamaru sighed. "Alright, let's give it a try, just this once. Activate your sharingan." Takeshi did as he was told and stared at his sensei. Quickly, Konohamaru made four hand seals. "Doton: Dochu Eigyo no Jutsu!"

Takeshi watched as he quickly created a hole in the ground and emerged behind him. Takeshi deactivated his sharingan. "Hey, come on! How is copying jutsus my way of working hard? Konohamaru pulled Takeshi's headband over his eyes.

"Because now, you're going to learn how to fight blindfolded. I now you can take a punch, so be sure to dodge it." Takeshi went to a half assed stance and was punished for it. A swift jab to the gut sent him down. "In no way am I kidding. If you don't want to rely on your eyes, you will fight without them." Takeshi stood up and grinned.

"So that's where you're getting at. I don't see how it's possible, but I guess I'll play along." Takeshi widened his base and prepared for what promised to be a beat down.

OoOoOoOo

Yuuki wanted to know once and for all. She grabbed her ration and smiled deviously. "Boy am I starved!" She took a massive bite of it and proceeded to fake choke. After grabbing her throat, she began convincingly rolling on the floor. Not long after, she let her hands go limp.

"Are you serious!" Isami rushed out and rolled her on her back. What he saw was a mouth full of chewed food as she stuck her tongue out at him. He stared in shock before he lowered his head. "Son of a-" A swift kick to the nuts sent him rolling to the floor.

"You're worse than dad, you know! I mean, it's bad enough you try to deceive me, but ruining that moment? Mind your own damn business!" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"It's not like that!" He lifted his head to see her meanest glare inches away.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you just 'accidently' scared the shit out of us when we were so close." She pinched his cheek nearly off his face. She then let go and put her hands on her hips, now with a smile. "So that just means you have to make it up to me for the rest of your life." If it was possible, his head hung even lower to the ground.

"It's vital that you don't let on to my presence. Dad needed the best to escort your team, since you two have been targeted before." He looked up to her with a rather serious face. "My job is to get you home-safe from the shadows."

She sighed and waved her hand. "Fine, I get it. So anyways, I figured I could use your input on a little idea of mine." He raised his eyebrow and lowered his jaw. _How long has she known? _"But first, I need to ask you a question, and I need a straight answer: Are you moving in with Hitomi? Just say yes, or no." Isami sighed as he moved to a seated position.

"Yes." Yuuki's world might as well have stopped, spun the other direction and flipped upside down. The answer made her fall in depression, punching the ground.

"I can't accept that. You were supposed to say no…" He rolled his eyes. "Why did you two lie about it then? That makes things even worse inside!" A tear formed in her eyes, knowing her hopes just shot out the window. Isami really couldn't bear to see her that way.

"Let me set the record straight for everyone. Again, you absolutely CAN'T tell anyone about this. Neither of us lied. You're failing to see the pieces aligning." He scratched his cheek and looked away. "I'm romantically involved with Kochi, not Hitomi. We just need a little more cash to make the rent, that's all."

Yuuki punched him square in the face with fire in her eyes. "Say that in the first place, damn it!" It was hard to tell if she was more relieved or pissed.

"You told me to say yes or no." He rubbed his cheek and sneered at her. "Enough of these questions, I already told you more information than I was ready to. Not easy for me to feel tied down, ya know?" She sat properly and smiled.

"You need to tell mom and dad soon. Anyways, thank you for making my day." He grunted as he tilted his head away. "Alright, now for a more serious question. You know how when you make a ton of clones, they naturally appear farther away?"

Isami tilted his head. "Yeah, so what?" He squinted before getting excited. "I know! You're thinking about spawning clones in your clones so they can fight while they fight!" Yuuki slapped him in the face.

"It was a rhetorical question!" He rubbed his face again, glaring at her. "So, taking out the clones in between, you spawned a clone a far distance away from you, right?" Isami's posture jolted and he couldn't help but grin. Yuuki grinned right back. "Bingo! Do you think it's feasible to spawn clones wherever you want?"

Isami placed a finger on his temple and thought deeply. "You know, I never really thought about it." Isami lifted his face back to hers. "Do you know what makes the clones special besides the experience perks and the physical copy?" She squinted and looked away. "The answer is probably not so important to spend all day on. They belong to a field of ninjutsu called 'time/space ninjutsu'. Basically, you are modifying 'space' in two instances: Creating the physical copy and spawning it in a set location. It probably would take some serious training and more chakra, but I think it's actually possible." He made a double take in his head and smiled. "Yuuki, that's actually brilliant. When did this idea come about?"

She rubbed her nose as she laughed. "Just came across my mind when I made all those clones yesterday. So you or dad never thought of this?" He shook his head no and became more serious.

"I need to talk to you about that actually. Your chakra pool is huge, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it like you did. Of course you're going to pass out after essentially using a B-ranked jutsu three-hundred times. I had to transfuse some of my chakra into you; otherwise you would still be out today. Forget that, you could have died!" Yuuki's eyes widened. All along, she really thought she was regulating herself, but she really did take it too far. _Isami may have saved my life yesterday._ A sad face told the world.

"I'm sorry. I guess I can be pretty stupid sometimes." She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, Isami. You really are a good brother after all." Isami put his wolf mask on and made a hand seal.

"Tell it to the nuts." He kicked leaves out of nowhere and they swatted Yuuki in the face. It had the added perk of messing up her hair. Her face dead panned as she spit out a leaf.

"Piss me off enough and there won't be any! I can hold grudges for a long time, by the way." Yuuki dusted herself off and threw up the family sign. "Looks like I've got more food on the plate. I'll take it bite by bite." She summoned ten clones and gave them a nod. "This won't be so easy. Let's make it happen, people!"

OoOoOoOo

"Look this isn't the point. I was just winging it when I blindfolded you. I'm just trying to say fight without the sharingan right now!" Takeshi stood up slowly, spitting out blood. After all the abuse he was taking, he still held a confident smile. Lifting his arm forward, Takeshi taunted Konohamaru to come one more time. "Why don't you kids ever learn?"

Takeshi stood motionless, seemingly willing to take another blow. As his sensei swung, this time Takeshi dipped under it and threw an elbow into his side. What was more surprising was his left hand prevented the knee that was coming. Konohamaru jumped back with his eyes wide. Takeshi lifted his headband wide eyed himself. "Hey, it finally worked. Did I actually land a hit on you, Konohamaru-Sensei?"

"Alright, I'll admit you caught me off guard. Were you using the sharingan or something?" That was the only reasonable explanation. However, his student signaled no. "I don't believe you. You could have dodged the punch with luck, but you couldn't have stopped my knee without knowing it was coming. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Takeshi grinned as he looked to his feet. "I figured at first I'd try putting chakra into my feet. I've been doing it sense we started, but it wasn't really helping. However, when I tweaked with the amount I channeled, I began to feel pretty distinct vibrations when you attacked. Hit me long enough and of course I'm going to get used to those vibrations!" Konohamaru backed off and gave his words consideration. It was pretty close to jutsus that have been made to perform similar effects. However, to feel a shifting of weight using the ground vibrations wasn't something simply channeling chakra into your feet should tell you. This kid had some pretty good senses.

"That's quite intriguing. I assumed you'd use your ears if anything." Takeshi gave another pause of thought. "Would you care to give me more of a demonstration then?" Lowering the headband, Takeshi gave him a smile. This time, Konohamaru came faster and lead with a kick. Takeshi dipped his body and swung a counter-kick at his supporting leg. Konohamaru jumped it and blocked an incoming uppercut with a smile. A kick wouldn't be readable in the air. Takeshi himself smiled as he dipped under it again and grabbed his stationary leg once more. He pulled it and kept Konohamaru's momentum spinning. The only way to recover was to land on his hands and flip back to his feet several meters away. "Alright, how'd you block the kick in the air?" He was almost frustrated.

Takeshi raised his hand with a smirk. "I put some chakra in my hand to feel you're balance. Wasn't really sure it would work." Konohamaru smiled over Takeshi's innovative fighting style.

"I've got to admit you're starting to pull off blind fighting. I figured only highly tuned sensor types could do it." Takeshi lifted his headband and wiped the sweat off his face. "We've been doing this for a while." Looking up, they saw the sun getting ready to set. "I say we gather everyone and call it a day. We've got plenty of time to do this kind of stuff later."

OoOoOoOo

After the group was reformed, they retreated back to the hotel for the night. Konohamaru was quick to find Isami and continue the mission. All though his demeanor was slightly more focused than last night's, the fire was still burning inside him. This time, he allowed himself to remember that night.

OoOo

"Rasengan!" Thrusting his arm through the wall, Konohamaru was becoming frustrated. Guden had been using his prowess to easily navigate the walls and ground. He withdrew his arm and checked over his remaining team. Rekano was ready to protect Udon at a moment's notice. While Udon appeared to be in a fighting stance, he couldn't have been there mentally. Konohamaru clenched his fist in rage. He knew what needed to be done. "We're retreating! Udon, snap out of it, grab her, and run." He headed over to the group and twitched an eye at Rekano. Udon said nothing, but did exactly as he was told. Konohamaru gripped his staff tighter. "We've got sensors all around the place. He's trapped!"

A sword shot by his face, drawing blood from his cheek. "Like hell I'd let you leave!"

In a swift motion, Konohamaru crashed the rising man's skull with his staff and yelled, "Katon: Komakai kaki!" A small fire ball punched into the man and right into Rekano's river palms. Catching the dropped blade, Konohamaru impaled the man through the heart. After giving it a sharp twist, Konohamaru left it in the falling dead man. "Let's get out of here."

They quickly made their way to the exit. Udon propped himself against the entrance wall and collapsed. "Why?" Tears poured uncontrollably out of his eyes. All he could do was hold her tightly and beg for answers. Konohamaru faced away in shame as Rekano bowed his head in respect. A crowd of medical ninja began to approach them. As they pointed to Udon, Rekano noticed a hand coming out of the wall. He gathered water around his hands, but in no time, Guden was holding him hostage. Blood was still gushed out of the man. Explosive tags strung together wrapped around both of them as the man smiled.

"My dreams will be met by another. No sense in going down quietly!" Udon's eyes shot open before they were both obliterated in a massive explosion. Konohamaru dropped his brace, seeing Rekano's wall of water that saved everyone from the blast. Before Konohamaru completely broke sanity, he noticed the only thing remaining of his best friends were a charred Moegi and a battered headband.

OoOo

A fist planted itself into the wall. "How can there be nothing here!" They'd spent the better part of two hours overturning everything they could move. Not a trace of anything remained in the castle. Konohamaru struck his lighter and sat down. All though the cigarette was lit, he didn't really have much of an inclination to smoke it. "I'll find this man. Up until now, I swore he was dead." He chuckled to himself in a somber tone. "Will I really be redeemed catching this guy?" In his head, he could hear Moegi scolding him on starting such a nasty habit. He could also hear Udon telling him to be the leader and do what comes naturally. Konohamaru shed a calm smile.

"Hey, you're not going to believe this." Konohamaru looked up at Isami who still had his byakugan up and running.

OoOoOoOo

After several minutes of digging hundreds of meters underground, they reached a small room. It was filled with old books too worn out to read in the dark. Just the sheer distance underground the room was shocked Konohamaru. "It doesn't make sense for this to be Guden's research. He would have either still been using it, or taken all of this." Using the flame of the lighter, Isami picked up a particularly large book and squinted.

"What if he had no idea of this place?" Konohamaru's eyes mimicked his inner shock when Isami showed him the book. "Do you know a Kuden Utsushi?"

"That answers the question. This is likely Guden's brother. The very brother we killed ten years ago." Both of them sat in silence as they looked over the large quantities of information. "I think we can call this a successful mission."

OoOoOoOo

"Hey, can we please have a mission? I'm dying here!" An exaggerating Datsu lay on the ground in Rekano's office. Team Seven were even itching for something else to do. Rekano sighed as he shuffled through a few papers.

"Here's a C-ranked mission. Apparently bandits have been giving caravans a difficult time. Some even claim to have seen demons raiding their goods. Go check it out, and quit pestering me." Datsu jumped up and could have danced. His excitement wasn't as contagious for everyone else. "Look Kaito, a C-ranked mission! This makes three for us now!" Kaito just nodded slightly, making Datsu less happy. "You could at least try to be enthusiastic about this…" With a pondering look on his face, he turned to Team Seven. "You're coming with us."

All of their eyes twitched at the audacity of the young man. Rekano sat up. "Well, what do you think? It's not often he's open to help. Five powerful genins should be fine for this mission." It wasn't long before Konohamaru agree with his old friend. "Besides, this will count as you're second C-ranked mission, right?" Yuuki might as well have been on Datsu's wavelength. In fact, every one of the genins seemed to be in a far better mood. Rekano and Konohamaru could only attempt to recall the days they looked forward to missions like the kids did. "I guess that settles it. If things turn out worse than you expected, do not engage. You hear me Datsu?"

Datsu grinned as he tightened his headband. "Yeah, yeah. We won't fight out of our league. I know the drill." The group mingled for a little bit before Datsu screamed out. "Yosh! Team Datsu departs to beat up a bunch of bandits!"

"I'll be able to find 'em quick with the byakugan, so it'll be nice and easy!" Yuuki pointed at her eyes and punched out a few invisible thugs. Noriko and Kaito said nothing, but they began walking out.

"You two are fueling each other's spaz side. They'll hear us before we even leave the village." Takeshi pocketed his hands as he stared Datsu down. The stare was returned as Datsu rubbed his head. Suddenly, Datsu punched his arm and grinned.

"As if that'll help them any! Quit being a sour puss and get pumped, damn it!" Takeshi glared at him for a minute before smirking. Yuuki couldn't help a smile, seeing they were starting to become 'rivals' like her uncle and Rekano were. With that, the remaining three ran out in a competitive manner.

Konohamaru laughed heartily at his students. "That sure made an annoying racket quickly! Nice call on that one, by the way."

Rekano stood and motioned his fingers to his mouth, as if to offer a smoke. Konohamaru nodded and they left his room. "I had a feeling you wanted to tell me a few things in private anyways." Konohamaru let out a sigh that seemed to confuse his rival. Suddenly, Konohamaru punched him in the arm and continued out the door chuckling. Rekano narrowed his eyes, rubbing his arm.

OoOoOoOo

"What are we looking at here, Temari?" Naruto approached a tired woman rubbing her eyes. She had been entrusted to doing the book worming on the journal they had received.

"It's definitely confirmed. This journal belonged to a man named Kuden Utsushi. In it, he has made several references to his brother, Guden Ustushi. So for starters, we have a full name of the man. However, most of his ranting is trying to find out exactly what they were." Naruto sat down, ready to hear her clarify on exactly what that meant. "Apparently, the first thing either of them remembers is waking up in a lab. It never says where this lab was, but it does suggest they were heavily genetically modified."

Naruto pounded his fist on the desk. "Orochimaru! It has to be." He began rubbing his temples. "Damn near everything bad in this world stemmed from that one man. He's been gone for over twenty years and his history still causes trouble to this day!."

Temari flipped the book over to show Naruto more. "It looks like they aren't far off of his ideals. Look here." She signaled him to read a passage.

"We've made steady progress: upon further study of our DNA, I can confirm it's very potent. I opted on gathering subjects and injected my DNA in them. We finally had one survivor out of one-hundred subjects. We offer them money, protection, anything their hearts desire, ultimately leading to their demise. However, this result is quite shocking; the subject that survived experienced a dramatic enhancement of his natural regeneration and something very exciting. It would appear adding my DNA to his spliced a kekkei genkai into his body. This particular subject already had two to start with. Maybe we are approaching this wrong. I believe I will inject my younger brother with this kid's DNA next."

"Now skip forward. This seems to be where the research was cut short." His eyes shifted through the text.

"Success is an understatement. After several studies, I was prepared to deem it a failed concept. My brother's DNA destroyed any invading DNA completely. However, when the subject focused his chakra and Guden remained in physical contact with him, his DNA seems invaded into our subjects DNA. Using this method, we may be able to incorporate every single release type into his genes. We have opposing DNA abilities, but no matter what becomes of him, he is still my brother. All I need to do is prime a subject with my DNA and he can tap into all their natures. We will become gods, achieving what the very man who allowed us to live ultimately could never do. Uchiha Madara, do you regret leaving us behind in your conquest?"

Naruto leaned back, knowing the gravity of the situation. The Guden he knew from that night was an extreme underestimation. "This information needs to be spread. We've got his motive, his origins, and his abilities. We can no longer afford to wait three years to stop this man. We'll wait for Isami to return before we branch out the information. He'll be able to spread the word securely so we don't risk rousing enemy suspicion."

OoOoOoOo

_These aren't standard bandits ahead. I can't gauge them completely, but there's a lot. _Isami sighed, noticing a couple clicks ahead; there were likely a few rouge ninja and a ton of bandits. _Hopefully I won't need to get involved directly._

"Hey, come on!" Datsu crossed his arms behind his head and scoffed. "Can't you find them already? How far can those eyes see anyways?"

Yuuki flipped him off as she answered. "I can see around eight-hundred meters right now. We just need to keep moving."

Takeshi walked further ahead and smirked. "I've got to admit, I'm getting anxious as well. Hopefully we can take them out quickly without any trouble." The two boys began competing on who would walk in front.

Noriko and Kaito straggled behind. "Do you feel it, Noriko?" She nodded, looking forward.

"Something eerie is coming. This mission may prove difficult after all." He nodded in agreement.

"Wait, I found some. Woah, I found a lot!" The group froze and waited for her to continue analyzing. Sweat began to run down her face as she counted. "thirty…" Datsu was the only one to smirk. "Forty…fifty…" Now sweat began to run down his neck. "sixty…" She kept counting. The group just remained frozen. The numbers were stunning, and it was now more curiosity than anything that made her count on. "Ninety-two…that's all of them. Ninety-two enemies in the area!" There wasn't anyone among them able to lift their jaw. "It gets worse to! They have a few hostages!"

-Authors Note-

Wow I've been busy. Even in this chapter I was busy. Feeling that tempo change yet? Cause it pumps me up every time I finish a chapter. Have a good day and thank you for reading! It means a lot, this being my 1st real story in all! Sorry for any Moegi and Udon fans out there. I personally just can't get over her strange hair and his snot, but whatever. It was kind of messed up the way they went, wasn't it? Damn job, I just want to keep cranking out these chapters! Grrrr…


	10. For Honor

**Chapter 10: For Honor**

"Say something, damn it! We have to make a decision!" Yuuki demanded an answer from Datsu. His eyes squinted and his body tensed. Yuuki could sense his hesitation. _He doesn't have a clue what to do, does he?_ She got in a thinking pose.

"Datsu!" Takeshi shoved Datsu's shoulder, hoping to snap him into logic. However Datsu gave him a much harder push, forcing Takeshi off him.

"Get off me. I know, damn it! Just give me a second." Takeshi clenched his fist, ready to strike. Before he lost his composure, he considered their situation. It's not like any of them had been in such a critical position. Takeshi himself was just trying to push the responsibility off to someone else.

"We can't handle this. We don't even know if these guys are powerful or not. Let's withdraw." As Takeshi attempted to speak reason, Yuuki covered his mouth. He gave her a confused, almost upset look. She responded with a calm, warm smile.

"Seriously, just relax you two. They have numbers; so what! Datsu, I assume you know how to use my technique, right?" As eyes shifted to him, he nodded, slowly forming a grin. "We have two master Swordsman, do we not?" Kaito and Noriko gave their swords a quick check and bowed their heads in unison. She looked at Takeshi. "And we also have the toughest Uchiha with us, yes?" He blushed as she removed her hand finally. "We have to try for the safety of those hostages." She inhaled a breath to calm herself now. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. We all should be, and we all have the right not to follow through with this risk. Right now, we don't have a clue how desperate the enemy is, or what they have at their disposal, but we haven't been training for nothing. I have a plan."

Datsu scoffed sarcastically. "Even with a year's more experience, I still couldn't keep us together." He sized up the girl before crossing his arms. "Alright, let's hear it then."

Yuuki nodded as she created a clone. "I will send a clone back for reinforcements. I'm confident we will have help when we need it." She quickly sketched a blueprint into the ground. "We'll follow the road and travel northeast along the forest line. Whoever we manage to flush out, we will handle accordingly. I have to make it to the hostages, so we aren't stopping. I assume everyone knows their strengths, so I'll leave fighting decisions up to you. Again, I have to make it to those hostages. I've got an ace up my sleeve." The group was slowly gaining faith in Yuuki. "In addition, if you cannot win, stall. Help will be around the corner. Any questions?" Kaito's eyes opened slightly as he nodded. Yuuki then signaled her clone to get reinforcements.

"I may have despised you for so long, but you have my respect." Noriko spoke up and Yuuki felt slightly taller. However, Noriko knew what Yuuki and her shadow clone technique were capable of. If she had a plan, it was likely going to succeed. "I'm willing to put my trust in you for this one."

"Dear lord, are we really going to this? I hope you aren't still planning to keep a step behind me then. I haven't been training for my health, you know!" Takeshi locked eyes with Yuuki as they traded grins. _I don't like the risk, but something tells me we have to do this. I have to do this._ Takeshi's smile faded as he gulped. "We need to keep in mind that these are the real enemies. Killing…is an option; one I'd prefer to avoid at all cost." The team froze in consideration of the fact. This wasn't something any of them particularly wanted to do.

"Enough!" Datsu entered the scene with a driving knee to Takeshi's face. "Let's find someone to pound already, before I start fighting you!" With a flexing arm and his hardest tough guy face, Datsu held a confident pose for a moment. _Can't show any more weakness than I've already shown._

"Quit giving me more reasons to kick your ass!" Takeshi blew Datsu away with a powerful punch, only to rub the pain off his cheek later. The group shared a brief period of laughter before getting ready to move with a positive morale.

"Team Yuuki, move out!" Isami watched as his younger sister took control with confidence. In the tree line, he couldn't help but shed a smile.

"I'll be here for you. I hope you know what you're doing. I have a feeling no one's leaving this one without a scar, considering this has become an A-ranked mission." Isami inhaled deeply to calm his concern for the young group. "Am I doing the right thing, father?"

OoOoOoOo

"I can't believe it! To think those damned ruins held that kind of information." Rekano crossed his arms and propped himself against the wall. "Thank you for getting me up to speed on the situation. I know it may be hard, but know that you my full support." Konohamaru mimicked his friend's posture.

"I'm happy to hear that. So what about you? When I left, I became completely oblivious to what happened here. Why don't you fill me in?"

Rekano chuckled. "I'm afraid the past few years have just been boring politics. But let's see…when you left, I was decided as the leader here. Of course, I don't need to tell you the Land of Rivers is a dog-eat-dog world. My older rival, Shin, challenged my authority out of the blue. We came to an understanding, ultimately resulting in him leaving the village peacefully. With it, he gained a small following and decided he would try to rival my village. Before he left, he even laughed at the villagers, claiming the village was doomed to fail under my rule. This wasn't the Shin I knew anymore, so I became determined to prove him wrong: Within a few months, I had collaborated with the villagers, elders, and successful financial specialist. Our economy boomed as we exploited our rare chakra trees and promising ninja. Three years flew by and an all too familiar face showed." Rekano let out a long sigh over a serious demeanor. "Shin returned and violently attacked the village. I tried to reason with him, but he hated the success I had. His rule had led to revolt, and he had assumed my fate must be the same. Shin was powerful, but his arrogance made him weak. The fight was not easy and the destruction was heavy. Once I finished him off with my rapids fist, his followers ceased the assault. I allowed them to take his body for a proper burial; he may have died tainted with hate, but I still knew him as a friend." Konohamaru said nothing, but he bowed his head in respect. Rekano turned the conversation to a little more upbeat. "After that, I made it my ambition to take the village to glory. He was my friend, but the village was still depending on me to bounce it back from the attack. Here we are today."

Konohamaru nodded his head and smiled. "Time is a funny thing. Growing older and having a daughter didn't heal my scars, but it really gives you a purpose to keeping moving forward. Just look at this next generation. I never would have expected to be that older guy preaching about the children, but they are just too impressive."

"Maybe for an old geezer like you!" Rekano snickered at his rival. "Can't say I disagree though. I have grown to love everyone in this village. I'm confident those five children have the skill and talent of seasoned chunin. I'd even wager to say they could've made jonin back in our day!"

"Woah now, who's losing their mind to old age? Let's not forget who the pros were back in our day. I don't care how miraculously strong these kids get, we've still got them beat with experience!" Once more, the friends shared a long laugh.

OoOoOoOo

"Shin-sama, we have intruders! Two absolutely massive chakra signatures and three smaller ones. Do you have orders?" A seated man laughed as he crossed a leg. You could feel the aura of composure and pride as the man smiled.

"Maybe they finally became wise of us. Not that it matters at this stage. We no longer need to live off scraps and we will definitely not show weakness. Do what you will, Nia."

"Very well." The black haired women turned to two bulky men. "You heard Shin-sama!" Her tone cracked like a whip. "Ken! Jitto! Get the fourth division out there!"

OoOoOoOo

"Woah, heads up!" Yuuki quickly pointed her hand to the forest. "Looks like thirty-eight just split off in pursuit. There are two powerful enemies among them." She could assume the group was feeling the same adrenaline as she.

"Hell yeah, say no more. I got this one easy! Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" _I'll prove what water jutsus are capable of, no matter what! _Twenty-four clones and Datsu shot towards the enemy platoon.

"You taught that monster your signature technique? Are you mad?" Kaito held a face of concern, but it was likely not for Datsu; rather, any enemy unfortunate enough to challenge him to a fight.

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure?" The man stood calmly and nodded. "Very well Akano." Nia faced her leader and reported. "Sir, it seems the smaller of the two large chakra pools have divided into twenty-five different ones. The other four are continuing their progress."

The man sat a little straighter now and engaged his mind. "Intriguing. Send in division three, cut them off. Hopefully they put up enough of a fight to entertain me."

"Jace, take Mila and Kojo. Division three must eliminate these pests."

"Get off my back, women. I can fuckin hear." As the young, red haired man rose, he fastened his set of blades. "I don't know why I put up with this shit anyways. You don't pay for nothin." Nia backed off, knowing the man's conviction. "Better be worth it. Let's get this over with!"

OoOoOoOo

"I'm picking up an armed group incoming. Three are powerful, and they are well organized. Twenty-three total." Yuuki made eye contact with Noriko and they acknowledged a telepathic message. Both Kaito and Noriko broke off to intercept the division.

"There's a duo I'm not worried about. That leaves thirty-one, right? How far off are we?" Takeshi stuck close to Yuuki.

"We still have a ways to go." She smiled at his interrogative expression. "I know we can do this!"

OoOoOoOo

"What're we looking for Ken? Five ninja?" Jitto asked his senpai in ignorance.

"You need to pay attention, dumbass! Two of these ninja are likely jonin, according to their chakra size. I wish we had a sensor in our group." The man took a look over his pathetic quality of ground troops. "Who designed these divisions anyways?"

"I did!" A voice boomed out of the forest and startled the entire division.

"Who said that?" Ken turned to his men and signaled them to advance. "Is our challenger an idiot, or an attention whore?"

"I wonder myself: which of us is the bigger idiot?" Two Datsu's appeared in the tree tops. Everyone rubbed their eyes, swearing they were seeing double. In unison they performed complementary jutsus. "Kirigakure No Jutsu, Suiton: Chakra Kenpa No Ame!" A dense fog covered the area as a heavy rain down poured. "I may prefer playing the fool, but this is not for my entertainment. You are my enemies, and I will drown you." Datsu no longer held a playful tone.

Ken grabbed Jitto and commanded his group. "We've been caught off guard. Take him out!" They swiftly retreated underground.

_Shit, two of the stronger ones just dropped out of the rains reach. I need to split these weaker ones up._

"Where is he? Hold together everyone! If we stay in a group, he won't easily take us down!" Suddenly, a clone dove into the crowd.

"Yo! Suiton: Hahonryuu!" He blasted a torrent of water right into the center of the division, sending them flying apart. Three clones gathered and simultaneously shouted, "Suiton: Suishoha!", causing massive lake materialized out of nowhere. _One…two…five…nine…seventeen…twenty-three…thirty-six…got it. _"Attack sequence alpha!" All twenty-four clones gathered onto the lake and unleashed a flurry of devastating jutsus. "Suiton: Suigandan, Mizu Kamikiri, Suiton: Taihoudan, Suiton: Suihachi, Suiton: Suishi no Jutsu, Suiton: Daibakuryuu!" As the guided wave caught the ninja barraged by water blast, it slammed the victims into the newly formed whirlpools. Not a single grunt even got a move off. Mist of water sprayed over a calming battlefield.

Suddenly, the mist and rain dispelled and Ken shot out of the ground. "You've saved me a few steps, boy! Doton: Retsudotensho!" The lake now turned into raging mud rapids, casting the grunts to safety. Datsu struggled against the pulling mud, only finding himself sink deeper into the quagmire. Before he was overwhelmed, his clones threw him onto solid ground as they fell prey to the rapids. He crossed his arms and glared at his opponents.

"K-Ken-senpai, he took them all out! There were so many of him, and he just slammed our forces using only ninjutsu. I doubt I even know more water jutsus than he. You sure we should still fight him?"

With a stomp of his foot, Ken completely filled the muddy lake with solid ground. "Have some faith. I have the elemental advantage, and you can cancel out his techniques. Besides, we were stuck with the weakest lot of foot soldiers. They were expendable to begin with."

"You've got five seconds to walk away!" Datsu was smirking, but he knew what he was up against. A sweat trickled down his face, also aware he expended around half of his chakra already.

OoOoOoOo

Akano and Nia spoke quietly to each other. After an extended conversation, she accepted his input and reported. "Shin-sama, two marks are still en route. Division four has been reduced to Ken and Jitto, and division three has halted before two ninja. It won't be long before the final two make it here. Your orders?"

Shin sipped on a glass of water as she explained. "Tell Akano to rally division two. I'm aware of what the risks are, so don't even bother." He finished the glass before rising. Shin walked over to the hostages that were loquacious about the possible rescue. "Looks like helps on the way. Wouldn't it be tragic if they couldn't make it in time?" With a maniacal smirk, Shin formed a few hand seals. "Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu!" A massive dome shut the victims inside as he placed a hand on it. "Time's ticking."

OoOoOoOo

"Stand fast!" Jace put his hand in the air with marginal enthusiasm. "Are you shitting me? They're a couple of kids." He rubbed his head in disappointment. That's when his eyes took a double take, keenly eyeing Kaito's sword.

Chuckles and taunts began to fill the ranks of swordsman. Kojo drew his blade and stepped in front of Jace. "We don't need to waste our skills on a couple of kids. Let the boys have some fun." Jace shrugged his shoulders and leaned against a tree. Kojo saw his approval and smirked.

"Here's your chance to surrender, morons." Mila's eyes drifted between the two emotionless faces that stood before them. Finally, she rested them on Noriko. Mila's blade drew swiftly and pointed at her. "Don't think we'll let you play hero here! You clearly know too much, and we will not hesitate to slaughter you. Are you prepared for death?" Noriko's face didn't even flinch at her words. Mila's blood ran hot and her patience exhausted. "You intend to look down on me and my men? Got to hell, you brats!" Kojo and Mila raised their blades in the air.

"Do you see it, Noriko?" Kaito's eyes remained in their usual closed state as he softly spoke.

"What? The fact that half of them don't even know how to even hold a sword, or the contradiction of you noticing things with your eyes closed?" They shared a smile before collaborating into a duel stance. Noriko stood face-to-face with Kaito, placing her left hand on his right shoulder.

Kojo laughed. "Sure, we'll give you a final dance. Courageous or stupid, we'll try to make it quick and painless for you. Ready!" The lieutenants dropped their swords in unison. Without another second, swordsmen poured out of ranks and began the assault. Kojo's unit headed straight for a brunt attack, whereas Mila's unit flanked around the sides. Noriko tightened her grip on his shoulder as he lifted his hand to his hilt. Kojo's unit was only a few steps away from striking distance. Kojo scoffed. "Fools."

Within a blink of an eye, Noriko thrust herself high into the air. The unit lost focus of Kaito as he swiftly drew his blade. In a high sweeping motion, the massive sword swung on its blunt side. The force managed to smash through five men. At this point, Noriko drew a hand full of senbon needles a masterfully picked off four men from Mila's flanking unit. By the time she landed, a single blade was already drawn and slashing the arriving three enemies tendons cleanly. The two pressed against each other's backs as the remaining forces halted.

Kojo and Mila might as well have been trying to filter feed based on how long their jaws remained slacked. Sweat began to run down Kojo's neck and rage began to boil in Mila. Needless to say, the grunt swordsmen were finding it difficult to keep heart. These kids took out over half the division within ten seconds. It didn't help that Jace was beside himself in laughter. "If you were wondering why I get paid more than you, that's why!"

"Quit fucking around! There are eight of you, work with it." Kaito slammed his sword in the ground and sat Indian style. Mila became even more irked. "Take advantage of his arrogance! Do NOT make me come down there!" The men snapped into a surrounding formation and held their swords in a stabbing manner. Noriko mimicked them with her second blade still concealed. The man she pointed to flinched, feeling the hellish aura the teen emitted. It was as if they were fighting two Jaces. He snapped to and took initiative. "Charge!"

As he arrived, his blade was sliced clean off. Using her left hand, she swung around Kaito's blade and followed the pattern. It wasn't an act of kindness, evident by several severed fingers and sliced biceps. The glowing chakra was slicing handily through metal. Just as she left an opening for the final armed swords men, Kaito clenched it in a single hand without rising. In an effortless twitch of the wrist, the blade was snapped off to the hilt. A very sobering fear fell over the remaining eight men. They were being toyed with, only one opponent even standing before them. Kojo, being the more compassionate one, shook for his comrades. He prepared to step in, but Mila restrained him. "Get off me! I'm not just going to let these two get away with this!"

"Shut up!" Mila slapped him across the face. "They are poorly trained, amateur swordsmen. It would be easy for Shin-sama to buy more. Don't ignore his orders…besides; they aren't trying to kill anyone."

Kojo shook her grip off, looking back to the carnage. "Poorly trained, huh? We should have taught them better…" his gaze drifted down.

Noriko let out a soothing sigh as she grabbed two handfuls of senbon needles. The remainder of the grunts were either screaming in pain or were backing away. She raised her hands, eyeing each of her targets carefully. It was easy to pick up their positions, resembling a compass of eight directions. What she focused on, however, was a little trickier. Finally, she put on the face of death himself and spoke. "You are all going to die if you move." Before their eyes could widen, the combination had started.

First came north with the left hand, then south with the right. She continued by slinging needles at the southeast target, followed by the northwest target. In pairs, the needles took on deadly accuracy and pierced the necks of each victim. Whether they were cowering in fear, standing still, or writhing in pain, each one landed perfectly. As she slung the last two needles into the southwest target, Kaito stood. The couple took on a similar standoff as they had before the attack. Emotionless and non-vocal on the inside, relieved on the inside.

Kojo and Mila felt chills run down their backs. The long silence was broken by a less-than-enthusiastic clap. Jace returned to his feet and smiled. "Beautiful teamwork! I didn't even get to take a power nap in the time it took you to wipe out twenty men!"

"Why would you leave your men to a slaughter?" Kaito prepared to interrogate the now division-less captain. "You may have stood a chance had you all combined efforts."

Mila went to vent out her inner steam, but Jace held his hand out to silence her. "I may be a swordsman for the highest bidder, but I do have honor. I will not allow my lieutenants to engage in an unfair match, though what they do with their men is their business. I may be 'captain', but I've only been here for a couple weeks. If they want to send in a bunch of men they could have trained better against honed swordsmen, then it just shows how shitty their leadership is." Both of his lieutenants sank their heads in shame. Jace himself seemed to demand respect from the elder subordinates. He was only older than Kaito by a year or so based on appearance.

"I see. You've been a wildcard your whole life, have you not?" Almost amused, Jace gave him a half bow. Kaito's eyes shot open for the first time. "What do you think of fighting me in a duel?" A fierce glare came across both of their eyes.

"No one has challenged me to a duel in years! You really think you're hot shit, don't ya?" He began to rub his head in thought. "Tell you what. If you manage to kill me, I'll pass these swords on to you." His eyes shifted to Noriko. "Just this once, I'll let my lieutenants engage a single target in battle. It's not that unfair anyways. But if she dies from your selfish decision, you lose." He rubbed his forehead, as if to summon a thought to his mind. "Oh! And try not to fuckin die!" Kaito smiled through the adrenaline. This man promised to be the highest caliber fighter he knew.

OoOoOoOo

Yuuki bit her lip, considering what her options were. "Hey, we've got six incoming. One of them appears quite powerful; the others are stronger than the other divisions' grunts."

Takeshi observed her body language. It was clear that she wanted to stay and help, but he knew that she had to get to the main camp. "I can hold them off long enough for reinforcements to arrive. How is everyone else fairing?" Yuuki focused backwards to find Datsu with only two opponents left. Then she noticed Noriko and Kaito had only three enemies to take down. She smiled.

"I think we were underestimated. The last two groups only have a combined five enemies left, although all of them are powerful." Takeshi felt his confidence sore, knowing that they were pulling off an impressive feat.

"You are incorrect. We simply failed to recognize our own weaknesses." The young man stood in the way, arms crossed. He had a longer, dark blue hair that lay neatly down. Despite his Proper manner and civilized cloths, he had a very powerful chakra. "I will ask you to cease your advancement at once. If you refuse, my division will be forced to take action."

Yuuki facepalmed, knowing she let herself get caught off guard. Using her byakugan, she reassessed the main camp. Twenty normal signatures, three powerful ones, one slightly greater, and what she assumed was the leader. However, now the hostages were trapped and she could see their chakra slowly flowing into the man. "I'd love to stay, but I can't allow your ruler to drain the hostages to death."

Akano raised an eyebrow. "So your eyes are what have helped you exploit our defenses? You have us wrong; Shin-sama would not lower himself to killing innocents." He calmly pointed his finger to her. "Why am I talking to a copy anyways?" Responding to the signal, five men snapped out and impaled Yuuki with kunai. Takeshi clenched his teeth, exhaling when he saw the cloud of white smoke. Akano shifted back to Takeshi. "I will not be dirtying my hands for this fight unless you are my equal. You will have to defeat division two, special operatives. I'll even let you know what sets us apart; we are well tuned sensory ninja. We have every counter for any jutsu you can imagine." The man gave a simple smile. "We will allow her to do as she will until you fall."

Takeshi looked at the five opponents he was about to face. They were calm, but very alert. It was likely that he would have to be precise when fighting these ninja. _Five grunts, likely one for every element. Too bad this group thinks too hard._ Takeshi stretched his legs out and smiled. "You know, you talk too much. My mood's so good, I'll even give you guys a handicap." They watched as the young man pulled his forehead protector over his eyes and tied tight. Aside from Akano, everyone was visibly insulted by this teen's arrogance. Akano noticed the chakra at his feet, but said nothing to his teammates.

In a blind rush, two men attacked Takeshi from either side. Takeshi took a jab to his right cheek and a kick to his left side. He allowed himself to feel their chakra, and made an audible chuckle at the pain he took. Despite the power behind their blows, Takeshi didn't budge an inch, and instead smiled wider. "That the best you can do?" Before the kicker knew it, his foot was stuck to Takeshi's side. Using the chakra to pull the man in close, Takeshi cocked an arm back and pumped chakra into it. "One down!" A scream escaped from the fearful man as Takeshi bore his fist straight into his jaw. An audible snap crunched out and the now unconscious foe flew far into the brush line.

The second attacker stared in shock when he felt his spine tingling; a typical reaction to danger for sensory ninja. "Why you!" Before the man could continue, Takeshi clinched his hands around his ears and fluctuated the frequency. The noise forced the man to cease motion and Takeshi shot three powerful knees into his face. Aside from the fact that they were losing numbers, the remaining three proved to be cowards. Witnessing their comrades' faces being shattered so fluently, yet, viciously was numbing them.

"Stand down. You three are to retreat immediately." Akano stepped forward with strong eyes and squared himself with Takeshi.

"Captain, there is no reason you must fight! We just got psyched out, that's all. We will finish this weakling." With a false sense of security, the other two agreed. However, Akano shot them back a terrifying look.

"I recognize someone as a near equal, and you three claim that's weak? If you don't want to lose those tongues, I suggest you retreat. I am making the tactical decision, and you will obey. You will not interfere with the main camp fight either. Is that clear?" Seeing the sincerity in his words, the elder of the three pushed the group out of the battleground.

"It's nice to have a noble opponent with a keen head on his shoulders. Would you rather we fight, or talk first?" Takeshi stood tall as he awaited his response. Just from appearance, avoiding the fight would be the safest option for him.

"It bothers me to say it, but talk. You are ninja from Konoha. What are you doing here?"

Takeshi scratched his head. "Well, three of us are from Konoha; the other two are from the Village Hidden in the Rivers. If you want to know the purpose of the mission, it was originally to investigate bandit attacks on caravans." Takeshi's mouth straightened. "This was supposed to be our second C-ranked mission, but I wager that went to hell."

"You mean that false village Rekano heads when you say 'Village Hidden in the Rivers'. Shin-sama has told us how that greedy man usurped him from power seven years ago. The coward didn't even do it through honor either. He cowardly snaked his way to the top. Your group is representing the epitome of disgrace!" Takeshi raised an eyebrow and lifted his headband. What he was hearing was a blind child worshiping a false god.

"Negative." The bluntness set Akano back a little. "My sensei is his best friend and rival for over ten years. Rekano has been the man in charge for all ten years. This Shin guy is feeding you a bowl of hot crap, and you're eating it right up." A tick of anger and doubt swelled in Akano.

"I can see we have reached an impasse. We talk with our combat skills from here on out. May the best man win."

Takeshi tucked his eyes away and smiled. _Judgment day, I guess. _"I intend to."

Akano smirked as he widened his base. "How cliché."

OoOoOoOo

"Yo!" Out of nowhere, Isami sprang up and scared the daylight out of his sister.

"Not now, dumbass. It's serious brother time. Serious!" She analyzed her options better now.

"Yuuki, don't you think it was a little too ambitious to tackle this mission? I've agreed with your ideas so far, but this is too extreme. You can't fight that guy. He is definitely jonin at least. You have one near jonin, three strong chuunins, and twenty genin ahead. Did it even occur to you that you are still genin yourself?"

"Oh, shut up already. I know what I can and can't do. I have the element of surprise on my side, a trump card, and you." He pointed to himself in pretend shock. _I see…so I wasn't the trump card after all._ "I'm not going to fight that guy, you are."

"I've been waiting to prove myself coach! Just tell me where to go and I promise to do my bestest!" She flicked him in the eye to douse his sarcasm factor. "Look, this isn't the average opponent. I'll be cutting it close, and if I'm detected even a little, he will likely just kill the hostages. This has to be done almost instantaneously, and I don't have the necessary preparations to do so." Yuuki slapped him in the face.

"You done?" He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his cheek. "I know this isn't a game, and I also know how to play this one. Don't show up until the hostages are free. He will lower his guard when he sees his opponent is a little girl. If he doesn't, step in and take him out. All the sensors stayed back with Takeshi, so I have the advantage here. " Isami observed her confident face for a minute before complying.

"The first sign of trouble, I'm finishing them all off. Use that clone wisely." Isami veered into the shadows, strategically placing himself in an ambush ready position.

"Yeah, I hope this goes as smoothly as possible to. Lives depend on it." Yuuki created a clone and sent it out to the camp.

OoOoOoOo

"Look, you can say I told you so all day, but the fact remains there are hostages. The more time we spend here, the more likely it is that someone may die. I wish I knew more up-to-date information, but this is all I have to work with. Let's go!" Yuuki's clone had made it back to the village and frantically explained the situation. Without a moment of hesitation, Konohamaru followed his disciple out of the building. Rekano wanted to help, but he had an entire village to protect.

"Ninety-two opponents? Are you insane? How is that making a good decision?" Konohamaru was furious with Yuuki for taking such a massive risk. She knew his anger was justified, but it was very off-putting as well.

"I'm well aware how difficult a mission this is. However, our team is exceptionally talented and tactical. I taught Datsu how to use shadow clones and he taught me how to use Suiton: Hahonryuu. With our chakra, we can easily out number them. Not to mention if I'm by myself, Isami can help out to." Konohamaru was shocked at her knowledge.

"Very wise analysis, but you are not supposed to know about your brother. How?"

"Look, I don't need to be a genius to know my own brother is tailing me. On top of that, you two should stop underestimating how quick we learn. We may be two month old genin, but we already know we can compete with chunin." Yuuki didn't look back to notice his shock. In such a short time, the prankster niece was becoming a powerful ninja. It was as if there was a bottomless well of potential just waiting all these years to be tapped.

"Alright. Then let's treat this mission as it should be treated. We'll regroup any stragglers and assist you at the main camp. Make sure Isami knows to back out when we're close."

"How do you know I made it there? I'm not even sure."

Konohamaru smiled. "Because you're Yuuki Uzumaki. If an Uzumaki needs to do something, they get it done. I grew up with your father, and I can see you are just as determined as he was." Hearing her uncle's approval made Yuuki smile. "This is still a critical situation though, so I hope you're ready to see the results off difficult decisions." She prepared to find her friends and get the hostages to safety.

OoOoOoOo

Datsu panted heavily as he continued to run. Weaving in and out of trees, he avoided the powerful earth jutsus being slammed at him. Any plans he had of countering were thwarted by Jitto, so truly all he could think of was stall. "What's wrong? Where's that cocky attitude you had a second ago, boy? If you come out and fight us like a man, I'll cut you some slack."

Datsu clinched his fist, knowing he needed to stall for more time. Reluctantly, he stepped out into the open and drew a kunai. "Who's running? I just wanted to see how fit you were. What do you say to a one-on-one, bareknuckle brawl? If I can take you down, this fight is my victory." Ken signaled Jitto to keep ready for a counter as he laughed.

"You wanna go toe-to-toe with an earth user? Stupid kid, I accept. Koka no jutsu!" Ken's skin hardened to a deep gray tint. Datsu could visibly tell the already ripped man was even tougher now. "Regretting your decision yet?" _There's got to be a weakness behind that jutsu. I wish I didn't have to get so close to find out though…_Datsu clinched his kunai and charged Ken. A few feet before striking distance, he chucked the kunai at his forehead. Ken remained still as it clanked off. _Shit, that didn't work at all! I need to fall back! _He attempted to slow himself into a direction change to throw off Ken.

It was too late. Ken grabbed him by the shirt and pounded Datsu's face. As if a freight train struck him, he was unable to hide the pain. Datsu did his best to keep the fall damage to a minimum, focusing more on staying awake._ If I take another hit like that…I'll probably die._ With blood starting to pour out of his mouth, he put on a smile. "Is that all you've got?" The fact that he was still conscious was proof enough of his toughness. _He's definitely slow though._

"Still want more? I like your guts, kid." This time, Datsu sprinted at him without hesitation. Ken attempted to strike, but the stone cloak proved to make it predictable. Datsu threw every kick and punch combo he could think of, knowing he was damaging himself. _I can't afford to let this clown beat me!_ Ken landed a quick head butt on Datsu, but this time he took the hit and kept his feet. Datsu channeled chakra into his hand and placed it on an exhausted Ken's face. With a bruised over eye and blood still gushing from his mouth, he smiled.

"I suck at chakra control by the way." Ken's expression befuddled. As Datsu gathered chakra into his palm, Ken was sent in the air and slammed a crater into the ground. Jitto's jaw dropped after witnessing the power of his chakra. Slowly, Ken got up rubbing his eyes in pain. Datsu's good eye jolted wide. _Bingo! _ Ken reached his feet and laughed.

"Was that the best you can do? You managed to piss me off completely now. This match has no point in going on any longer." As Ken created massive knuckles of spikes from the stone, Datsu smirked.

"I agree completely. I'd like to make a few parting words, if that's ok with you." Ken was taken back. He snorted and allowed him to, amused. "First of all, I'd like to point out that Jitto over there is a raging pussy. Seriously, all you've done is cancel jutsus and hide behind this guy." Jitto showed his frustration as Ken was beside himself with laughter. "Oh, I'm not even getting started. Your cheap ass has been hiding behind your rock techniques and acting all badass just because you can cover yourself with dirt. As if you'd ever stand a chance against a good ninja." Datsu spit blood in his direction, causing Ken to become infuriated. In response, Ken boosted the size of his fist even more and roared at him in anger. "And you're even dumber than I expected." Drawing two Kunai, Datsu swiftly closed in on Ken. Ken prepared to clobber Datsu with his massive fist, knowing that kunai could do nothing against him.

"I'll pulverize your bones to grains for your arrogance!" His mind suddenly pulsed in pain with words. 'arrogance is why I need you. You two never had a choice'. Datsu saw the easy window as Ken recovered. _I know that voice…_

Suddenly, Datsu raised his kunai and grinned. "Peek-a-boo!"

With excessive force, he slammed them straight through the eyes of Ken. A blood curdling scream sent him to his knees and made Jitto wince in fear. 'Run now, and never stop, Jitto!' His eyes couldn't help but tear. "Dad?"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Where are you, I'll fucking kill you!" His skin returned to normal as he wildly swung for Datsu.

"We're everywhere." Suddenly, dozens of Datsu clones appeared from their camouflage. Jitto had no chance of countering them all and was overwhelmed with water jutsus. As they created a lake, a few clones quickly ambushed the two. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" The vortex blasted them into the air, where the clones implemented the brunt of the attack. First a powerful series of water bullets lacerated their skin and battered their bones. "I told you already: you are my enemies, and I will drown you. Ultimate finisher! Suiton: Suiryuudan times five!" Four water dragons all intersected on the two foes in a bone breaking force that launched them even farther up. As they reached the peak of their climb, the final water dragon caught them in a meteor fall. With extreme speed, the thousand gallons of water smashed Ken and Jitto straight into the lake. The only thing that remained was a trail of red and bubbles. There were no signs of recovery.

Datsu's clones dispersed as he fell to the ground with a smile. "Did it. Knew I could do it." He felt drowsy and sore in the mouth. Of the hits he took, that was going to be the one he remembers the most. "I kinda lucked out on that one, huh?" His body stung with every breath. "Is this what it feels like when you run low on chakra?" Datsu's eyes slowly shut as he slept with a grin. He had accomplished what he himself didn't even believe possible. _Back on top, baby!_

-Authors note-

More like, back in the states, baby! Yes, I realize it was a long deployment, but I've been working none-the-less. I haven't had internet for seven months, so I would like to reward those who read with more chapters. While I have a few chapters already squared away, I may hit a small rut. I've got leave, new car stuff, and finally moving into my new apartment. Thank you for reading!


	11. For Courage

**Chapter 11: For Courage**

"What, did you expect the superiors to carry average swords?" Mila whipped her sword around as if to gloat. It was held together by flexible chain. Kojo said nothing as he drew a pair of bladed tonfas. Noriko made some distance between her and Kaito. Mila chuckled. "I can see you have a chakra blade as well. It's a shame you haven't yet refined it well enough." Mila channeled her chakra into her chained blade, showing a blue chakra across it. "You aren't unique at all. My wind chakra will slice through yours."

Kojo hardened his tonfas with his chakra. "I have the toughest weapons around. You cannot defeat them with a single blade." His eyes narrowed. "You will pay for your brutal display earlier." Noriko fought her urge to pull her other sword and squared up in a stance, pumping wind chakra into it.

OoOoOoOo

Jace unsheathed his swords and smacked them together. Now he had his grips in the middle and blades on either side. "You must have a set of blades to draw yourself, no? I saw you use your right hand to punch the grunt."

Kaito's eyes remained open. "Very perceptive of you. Unfortunately, I don't use two swords. I can't say I care for it all that much." Kaito eyed Jace's long, yet thick blades. "However, you seem to have an interesting weapon there. I wonder what material they're made of?"

Jace became infuriated. "I thought we were going to fight. Save the talking for the other's dead corpse!" Before Jace could finish his sentence, Kaito was already sweeping for Jace's legs. Forced on the defensive, he leapt in the air and noticed the circular attack. Using his forearm, he braced the blade for a heavy impact. However, he wasn't quite prepared for how dense the blade was, given the speed it was swung with. Jace was slid a few meters back, barely keeping his feet under him. "I see. You really aren't the average swordsman."

Shifting the sword to his right hand, Kaito returned the smile. "I could say the same to you." Flicking his arm, blood spattered off and to the floor. "Nice counter. I can tell those swords aren't light either. Judging by how well they took the impact, I'd say they're the same density as mine." His opponents eyes remained fixed on him, not even dropping an ounce of guard. "By the way, I'm right handed!" Jace's face dead panned, realizing what Kaito was implying.

Jace disconnected the swords and held them in either hand. "What the fuck are you? Feelin the weight of my swords from a single strike." His eyes glinted in joy. "You're just like me. 'cept that man sized sword must be even heavier than mine. For your information, each of these swords weighs one-hundred fifty pounds."

Kaito smiled. "That's it? This sword is around four-hundred pounds. Those aside, are you certain a man of your caliber should be selling his skills to the highest bidder?"

Jace felt a strange feeling he'd never felt before. As a sweat broke across his face, he smiled. "It's exactly what I intend to keep doing. Money will buy you everything in life. And if you want my weapons that badly, you will have to kill me for them!"

Kaito readied his stance and sadistically smiled. "I intend to."

OoOoOoOo

Her sword was deadly with wind chakra powering it. Noriko took the best way to block it each strike, but as it whipped around the block, the chakra jumped off and slashed her regardless. To make it worse, she was constantly taxed with avoiding Kojo's megaton tonfas. Despite the slow speed in which he swung them, she knew one hit would crush her. As her blade was caught in the chain sword, Kojo swung both of them from right to left. Noriko jumped up and planted her foot on Mila's head and leapt several meters away. A trail of blood followed her, with a deep gash in her abs and left arm.

"You're a quick one, aren't you?" Mila returned her sword to its normal state and smirked. "Wind chakra isn't something a kid could master so easily. Grinding your chakra into two opposing currents to get the finest point possible; that is the true nature of wind. Your version is desperately incomplete by comparison."

Noriko smirked as she healed her wounds. "Thanks for the advice. No one's told me the concept behind it. I knew it was close to a similar medical technique, but that does make sense." Mila was taken back by the fact that Noriko was a medical ninja to. "Besides, I think I could take you in a one-on-one match."

"As if we'd give you the opportunity!" 'The opportunity goes to who I will it, boy!' A mental shock threw him uneasy, but he quickly shook it off. _Was that his voice? _Kojo prepared his tonfas and charged. Once he was near striking distance, he swung violently with one tonfa, keeping the other in a defensive position. Mila deployed her chain sword and latched it to her sword. Noriko dipped under the heavy strike as it obliterated the tree behind her. "It's over!" Seeing her unarmed, Kojo assured himself victory. And then, she drew her second sword and channeled lightning into it. "What?" With a powerful jab, she shattered Kojo's defensive Tonfa and opened a wound right into his kidney. The added electrocution sent him back to the ground and rolling in pain.

Mila pulled her blade back and stood fast. Noriko assumed her duel sword posture and smirked wider. "Didn't you say I couldn't stop your tonfa blades with a single blade?" As he began losing consciousness, Kojo gasped for mercy. "I never expected you to give me the opportunity to fight alone anyways." Now both swords held a wind chakra in them. "Let's see who the better elemental swordswoman is, shall we?" Mila scoffed.

"So you have two elemental blades. Big deal, wind beats lightning, and my wind beats yours. You won't be able to defeat me." Mila looked at Kojo bleeding out and felt a cold sweat.

OoOoOoOo

Takeshi leaned to his right side to avoid Akano's punch and caught his leg as it came. Akano rotated his body to challenge Takeshi's catch. Feeling his balance, Takeshi pushed Akano's leg up and jumped up with an uppercut. To his surprise, Akano's center of gravity changed rapidly and landed a counter kick. Takeshi swung his leg up as it made contact and kicked Akano in the face. Both of them landed on their feet a few meters apart.

Akano lifted a kunai out of his pouch and raised it up. "You have an interesting ability. I can sense where your chakra is going, so you are matched against the wrong enemy. Being able to feel an opponent's chakra through the ground, and also feeling their center of gravity in the air is quite formidable. However, you leave yourself guessing when the foe is astray." Akano pelted the kunai at Takeshi, but Takeshi effortlessly tilted his head to avoid it. Akano looked closely and realized the chakra focused in his ears. A composed laugh came from Akano. "Formidable indeed. Have I shown you what I can do with my sensory ability?"

Charging Takeshi, Akano fluctuated his chakra frequency. The effect confused Takeshi into dipping what he thought was a punch. Instead, a powerful knee crushed into his face. Disoriented, Takeshi opened up to a wild barrage of punches and kicks, all focused on joints and his face. After a blow to the solar plexus, Takeshi took another knee to the face that sent him airborne and into the ground. "You're tough and emphasize power. In that regard, we truly are the same. If you're considering another beating, I'd suggest you just stay down. I fight because I believe in my leader and defending those under me. You fight for a liar and the thrill. This alone is why you were defeated." Takeshi shot up to his feet now in anger. His limps were battered, but still intact.

_He's got some serious power, that's for sure. _"You act like you hold yourself to such high standards. Do you always blindly accept something without question? I at least know I fight for the defense of others and for an honest man. I know why you're waves are going to fail; you're afraid to use your head and fail, and pass it off as your cunning strategy." Akano scoffed as Takeshi raised a hand to his head band. "If it doesn't compute, you'll dismiss it as trivial. That's why you're wrong." As he lifted the headband, Takeshi revealed his sharingan. Akano tried to determine the threat and decided he would just have to become even more unpredictable. "I may have fought blindfolded for this fight, but my clan is renowned for its eyes. Sight is our greatest advantage!"

OoOoOoOo

"I have no intention of fighting!" The clone held her hands up as the enemies surrounded her. Nia quickly approached her and observed. "Let me speak to your leader!" Nia observed the hidden leaf head band and nodded.

"The minute you make a hostile motion, I will personally kill you." Yuuki stuck her tongue out as they moved her to Shin. They stopped her around ten meters from him. He kept a hand on the cave and observed the young girl.

"What's the meaning of this? A barely teenage girl is who you bring me?" Shin's eyes were barely open, clearly disappointed his challenger wasn't a challenger.

"We wish to join your group. My teammates were ordered by me to put on a show for you to demonstrate our skill. I have a unique ability that allows me to see chakra from great distances." Shin kept his hand on the wall, but gleefully smiled. "Before arriving, I determined the first wave has been completely defeated by Datsu, only two swordsmen remain, and there is only one sensory ninja fighting my last teammate. What used to be a ninety-two man force has been reduced to twenty-eight, including yourself." Everyone's eyes shot open and whispers began to spread.

"I see. You and Akano would be a perfect team in the second division. However, I need to see your ability for myself. These hostages are an important advantage for me, but if you fail to defeat division one, I will kill them instantly. Interested?" _Let's see if she's bluffing._

Yuuki's heart pounded. She was waiting for a good opening, but there wasn't any at the time. Not to mention that this was a clone with only half her chakra. However, this was a chance to take more enemies down and not have to remain concerned for the hostages. "Sounds like fun. I doubt it will be much of a fight though."

Shin laughed heartily. "I like you already, girl. Division one foot soldiers, attack!" As the simple ninja ran in on her, the clone made a single hand seal. They piled on top of her and attempted to smother her to the ground. Suddenly, dozens of her appeared out of nowhere and blasted the fools away. The main clone remained in one spot as the grunts were pulverized. It was a three-to-one ratio against them. With her gentle fist, it wasn't long before every grunt was overwhelmed and taken down. She dispelled all of her clones and smiled.

"Hey, she's good isn't she, Karui? Not to mention creepy. Very, very, creepy." One of the four guardians spoke to his subordinates.

"I'd be good to if I could split myself into sixty people, Zente. I don't know, she didn't even break a sweat either, huh? What do you think, Biton?" The woman focused on Biton as he stroked his beard.

"I'm sure she could become a guardian with that kind of ability. If what she claims is accurate, I'd say her friends will be able to be captains at least. Nia?"

Nia remained focused on Yuuki as she released all the clones. Despite the smoke, the clone did not make any hostile actions. Shin was pleased, but somewhat bored. "You are wise to join me. I can see you are going to become my most powerful asset in a few years." Nia's eyes narrowed. "Show me your loyalty and I will allow these hostages to die quickly." Yuuki's exterior remained calm as she put her hand together and slightly bowed. _Ok, ok, ok…oh man I hope Yuuki is ready._

Shin laughed and dropped his guard. "Not even killing innocents fazes such a young lady. You'll do just fine!" Right as he finished his sentence, a clone suddenly appeared before the tall man. It instantly used gentle fist to block chakra flow to his hand and then jabbed a finger into Shin's eye. "You bitch!" With his better arm, shin punched the clone before tending to his eye. Nia immediately impaled the main clone, only to find it turn into white smoke. The guardians quickly formed up and waited for the real one to come out.

"Rasengan!" Isami destroyed the cave and put a hand on all the hostages. "Everyone hold on!" Within a flash, Isami and the hostages vanished, only for him to return alone in a second. Nia's jaw dropped as she saw the young man.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" She couldn't help but notice how strong he looked.

"I'm her brother, and in the process of being awesome." Isami made eye contact with her breast. "And who are the lovely ladies there?" She covered her cleavage and blushed. With haste, Shin made his skin harder than steel and Blasted Isami through the stomach. The clone disappeared in smoke as it laid its hands around Shins back.

"God damn it! Nia, take the guardians and find the girl. I'll deal with this pest! Kill them on sight!"

OoOoOoOo

"What was that move just now? I've never seen you move THAT fast before!" Yuuki stood next to Isami as they watched the battle field.

Isami grinned. "I call them, shadow clones! They do all sorts of-" Yuuki elbowed him in the side to get him to be serious. "It's a technique our grandfather was famous for. Dad took on the move after he became the Hokage, but with his speed, he doesn't really need it. When I became an ANBU leader, he taught it to me; The Flying Thunder God technique." Yuuki stared wide-eyed at him before he blew her off. "You have more important things to learn first." She puffed her cheeks a little which made him laugh. "We need to finish up here. Try to be decisive. If they give you an opening, take it. I'll teach you something cool when we get back, alright?" _It's only fair. She just taught me a new move… _Yuuki nodded, looking up her options against the four foes. She knew she needed more information before she could defeat them.

OoOoOoOo

"What's wrong, Jace?" Kaito stood before a battered opponent. Jace breathed heavy, barely managing to evade the fast attacks. "You aren't showing me everything you've got. You will die easy at this rate."

Jace stood up now, less exhausted. "So that won't even drop your guard, will it? I guess I don't have much of a choice. If you do kill me, make sure you do it like a badass. Otherwise, I'll kill you!" Kaito propped his blade in both hands, the left hand fastened on bottom. He knew Jace was going to come hard, but he had no idea just how hard Jace would come. In a flash, he began swiftly chopping at Kaito with both blades. He was almost striking as quick as Noriko was, but the force behind them was far too extreme. Kaito felt his right hand drift up to support his weapon easier, when Jace dipped low and swept his blade up.

"Shit!" Kaito couldn't move his left arm fast enough and his hand was sliced cleanly off. The next blow launched his sword away.

Jace smiled as he prepared to finish his prey. His breathe was heavy, and his legs even became unsteady as he approached. He snapped the blades together to finish him off. "You were a good fighter, worthy of a fine death." He raised the duel blade over his head. Kaito looked at his missing hand and winced as he looked back to Jace. "She's next." Kaito's eyes now exploded with rage.

Jace thrust his sword down as hard and fast as he could, but Kaito caught the hilt and pulled it to the side of his face. As it passed, a massive gash spread from the bridge of his nose to under his ear. Jace felt the power of a monster crushing his fingers and holding the sword. Jace drifted to a quieter place in his mind. There he saw flash of his younger brother bleeding out, and an old man laughing. _That's right…I had a brother…_ A tear rolled alongside his face. "Was I…too careless then?" In a swift thrust, Jace's far side blade came up through his chin and straight through the skull. With terror in his eyes, the young man fell back and created a fountain of blood. Kaito tried to fasten cloth from his sleeve into a tunicate, but fell unconscious. _It's up to you, Noriko._

OoOoOoOo

_Kaito!_ Noriko stopped in shock. She could feel his presence usually, but it suddenly vanished. Before she could digest the situation, the chain sword struck once more. Noriko spun off it and threw a few senbon needles to put Mila off balance. "What's wrong, you scared?" Mila had some gashes of her own now as Noriko had been giving her a swift assault. Noriko had also been healing herself when she could, but Mila wasn't allowing her to get much done.

Kaito's presence wasn't returning and she felt an uncontrollable rage shake her body. She was unknowingly grinding her teeth. Mila watched as her wind chakra began growing and the shorter one switched back to a hissing lightning. Noriko's eyes shot back to Mila and made her swallow her tongue. "Run away now, or I will kill you." Her tone struggled to be loud, as if it was harder not to scream.

Mila gripped her sword through the sweat and readied herself. "I refuse to back down. Lightning won't affect me!" '…WON"T AFFECT ME…me…me...!' Mila felt her mind yell a repeat back at her that made her cringe. "What the?" Before she could close her mouth, Noriko's Wind sword sliced cleanly through Mila's chain sword. Now the short sword pierced Mila's heart and stopped it immediately. Noriko didn't even hesitate to continue forward to find out what happened to Kaito. Mila's body fell to the ground and soon made a quiet pool of blood.

Arriving on scene, she saw him lying down with a missing hand and deep wound to the face. "Don't be dead, don't be dead!" Noriko frantically searched for his pulse to find it feint, but present. "Oh thank god!" She got her med kit out and began getting his left hand back on to stop the blood loss. After ensuring she had everything aligned perfectly, she stitched it in place and began the process of mending the flesh and bones together.

OoOoOoOo

"I see Datsu ahead! He's low on chakra, but he looks like he's just unconscious. No enemies around him." Konohamaru listened intently as Yuuki's cloned began trying to search harder. "I can see Noriko and Kaito. Kaito is half dead and Noriko is healing him as we speak. We need to get Datsu to her as well." _Kaito, half-dead? Were they that strong?_

"On it. Point him out for me." Yuuki pointed and Konohamaru grabbed her and dashed off as quickly as possible. For a moment, he sensed a completely different Yuuki than he'd ever noticed.

OoOoOoOo

Back outside of the main camp, the four guardians began searching for Yuuki. They kept close enough to respond to danger, but far enough apart to avoid conflict. Zente was the only one half-assing the search effort. "Bored! When are we going to just give up and go?"

"Patience is a virtue, young man." Biton stroked his beard as he peered his eyes open.

"Enough with the philosophical stuff already! You're going to bore me to. Not that Zente is right. You don't do anything right, Zente." Karui smiled as she pulled an eyelid down.

"Man, screw you guys! I'm headed this way." Zente stormed off the other direction.

"You idiot! Karui, go get him, now!" Nia barked at her and Karui rolled her eyes.

"Fine, god! Maybe ask a bit nicer next time?" Stern fingers signaled her to get moving.

OoOoOoOo

"No respect around here." Zente mumbled to himself as he began kicking rocks.

"Zente!" Karui jumped out of the clearing and scared him.

"What! God damn I hate it here!" She frowned as he leaned against the tree. "Aren't you tired of this, Karui? We've been working with Shin for a year, and we barely get any recognition for it. The guy's cracked as it is! Hostages? Why the hell take hostages?" Karui leaned against a nearby tree. "We could easily ditch out of this group and do better."

"Aww, but you saw her. She's strong! Let's stick around for a fight at least." Zente sighed. "I know, looting people for money isn't what I wanted to be doing at our age either. Maybe we could go to the village?" Zente nodded in his head, while Karui rubbed her head. "I don't even remember why I joined either. Weird…"

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Suddenly, they were surrounded by a dozen Yuuki clones. "Splitting from the group is a rookie mistake. I won't go easy on you!" Karui jumped up in excitement as Zente clenched the tree.

"Cool! You have to teach me how to do that after the fight! Right, Zente?" He remained against the tree in sweat. Karui looked at him and hummed, "hmmm?"

Yuuki felt her awesome entrance fly out the window as she deadpanned in confusion. "Are you actually two of these guardian people? You don't look all menacing and bad guy-ish."

"No, we aren't in the group anymore. In fact, we're on our way to escaping it while Shin is busy! Don't kill me, I'm only sixteen!" Karui muffled him as she grinned back at Yuuki. Yuuki's eyes twitched as her jaw slacked.

"He doesn't know what he's saying. We're in the group until we finish our fight with you. He just gets emotional."

_Are these two serious? _"Look, if you aren't going to be in the group, then why don't you go join the village hidden in the rivers? We can fight later, now's a bad time." Karui put a finger on her lips and thought about it.

"Hmm…give me a second. Isn't that where the evil tyrant Rekano lives? He sounds mean." The simplicity of the girl was starting to make Yuuki irked.

"No, you were lied to. Rekano doesn't hold hostages and threaten their lives. Plus there are powerful people there." Karui again put her finger on her lips. Yuuki crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Hmm…ok. We switch sides then. " Yuuki's jaw dropped again. "I've never seen a hidden village before! They're hard to find, aren't they Zente?" His shot open his eyes and slowly looked at her as he nodded.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" As the clones pointed, he screamed. _This guy's cracked…_

"Oh, he's afraid of crowds of girls. It's a pretty strange fear, isn't it?" Yuuki facepalmed as she released her clones. Zente pushed off the tree and caught his breath.

"Right, so let's help her out." Zente's composure returned. "We'll take out Biton, you can handle Nia. Will your brother be able to take out Shin? He was a powerful jonin back in the day. Wait…I have no manners. What's your name?"

She tilted her head. _He's actually pretty cool normally. _"Uzumaki Yuuki. But yeah, he's apparently one of the strongest ninja in the world. I don't know how, he's mostly…how do you say it?"

"A pervert!" Karui pointed a finger in the air with a smile. Yuuki smiled and agreed.

"Yeah, that's the word." She looked up to see Isami flexing and taunting someone as he flew through the canopy. Nia came flailing out of the brush with a red face." Yuuki's jaw dropped once more. Nia and Biton jumped down to them and grunted.

"Good work you two. Now we can finish this quickly." Nia held a vengeful smile.

"Nope!" Karui stuck her tongue out at Nia. "We're going to fight Biton and Yuuki's going to fight you."

Biton's old eyes widened and he dropped his beard. Nia's eyebrow twitched. "Wait, what?"

"Shouldn't we have deceived them first?" Zente facepalmed. "Whatever, we need to gain some distance, Karui!" Zente grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

OoOoOoOo

"What? How are you doing that?" Akano backed off. Every punch, kick, knee, or kunai he threw at him was effortlessly dodged. Akano was taking a beating.

"This is the power of the sharingan. Time slows down to me, I can see through genjutsu, see chakra flow, and I can copy any jutsu with it active." Akano bowed his head. "Overpowered, right? That's why not everyone gets to see it. I don't think it's wise for you to fight any longer."

Akano knew he was outclassed. Despite the damage he'd given this guy, when those eyes came out, this guy was the only one landing hits. His fist tightened. "Are you sure about Shin-sama?" The question caught Takeshi off guard. "How do you know Rekano didn't do these things to him?"

Takeshi narrowed his eyes. "Think about it! Why would we be on a mission to rescue innocent civilians if Shin was the good guy? At least accept in your head that you have misjudged his intentions."

Akano wiped himself off. "Funny, I'm actually having doubts now. Seems like your help is on the way. This one is much more powerful than the others." Akano now crossed his arms. "I'll surrender to you for now. This is your victory. I will get my answer from your superiors. In the meantime, my name is Akano. Like several people here, I was an orphan."

Takeshi sat down and leaned against a tree. "Uchiha Takeshi. I'm in Team Seven of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I'm a genin." Akano showed surprise as he sat properly on the ground. "I'm glad we can at least chat for a moment."

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure you are ok?" Noriko asked Kaito, who was slow to get up. Noriko sighed. "Your hand is splinted for good reasons. It needs to stay where it is or you will not have a left hand. Is that clear?"

Kaito pulled the duel blade out of Jace's head and flicked the blood off. "I get it. Thank you, Noriko. You've done more than enough on my behalf."

"I didn't do it out of obligation, you know." Kaito half-turned back and opened an eye. Noriko blushed and pretended to be angry. "You lost a lot of blood! Eat while we move!"

After walking a fair distance, Konohamaru, Yuuki's clone, and Datsu met up with them. "Sorry, we were trying to get Datsu help, but he was really just sleeping the whole time. Lazy bastard!" Yuuki kicked him in the knee making him jump in pain.

"I can tell you three had rough fights; however we can talk about it later. What's Takeshi doing now, Yuuki?" Konohamaru was desperate to get his last two pupils home safe.

"Ugh, nothing. He and his opponent are just sitting down." Everyone's face deadpanned. "And I'm not sure why, but Yuuki is now about to engage the second strongest signature, while the other three are splitting away. The hostages are safe now as well, meaning we did it!" The clone pumped her fist in as she celebrated.

"Let's get to Takeshi and find out the situation. Then we have to go help Yuuki." Konohamaru chain smoked another cigarette as they continued forth. There really did seem to be something strange with the clone's behavior. Who knows, maybe it meant 'we' as in the team.

OoOoOoOo

"Your brother can't watch his hands! That's what I'm saying! Shin-sama will punish him accordingly!" Yuuki rolled her eyes at Isami's behavior.

"As if Shin gives a damn about you! He's just using you to get what he wants."

Nia narrowed her eyes and prepared to fight. "He can use me however he wants. Shin-sama is my savior. What he does makes no difference to me."

Yuuki made a hand seal and created three clones. Together, they made illusion clones. Nia made a few hand seals now. "Katon: Goenkyu!" A meteor-sized fireball began to build. Yuuki quickly made three hand seals and shot out her jutsu. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Steam rose in the air as the jutsus clashed. One of Yuuki's clones made another clone where Nia was to find she was flanking already. As Yuuki saw her with the Byakugan, she pinned a finger against her elbow. Nia threw a combo at Yuuki, but she dispersed in smoke. Nia vented out her rage.

"How did you see me? I was in an A-ranked camouflage jutsu." Nia felt a tingle in her arm.

"I have the doujutsu known as 'byakugan'. That's all I need to say. Just now I shut off one of your chakra points. Three more on the arm and you won't be able to use jutsu. Run away while you can!" Inside, she felt adrenaline bursting through her. _I think I can do this! _"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

OoOoOoOo

"What is the meaning of this? You are supposed to be guardians are you not? Where is your pride?"

"I don't need you to lecture me old man. All you do is bitch about the younger generation. Acting like the wise old man all the time. You're a washed up old coot. That's why Nia was Shin's right hand man." Zente was clearly getting Biton's blood boiling.

"I was the one who advised Shin-sama for a decade! Don't tell me I'm washed up! I am a prominent member of Hell's Phoenix for a reason. The One for Deception!" He put a hand seal up and oddly focused on Karui.

"Hell's Phoenix?" Zente brushed off the nonsense and continued. "Look where that got us! We're scraping by and taking hostages! Shin is not the man he claims he is!" Zente pulled out a massive hunting knife and held it reversed. He then put on brass knuckles. "I don't know why we even joined this group anymore. Maybe you really are one for deception, but I don't think deceiving is a good way to gather following."

"What are you doing, Zente? Have you gone mad?" Biton smiled as he began to stroke his beard.

"He's betrayed Shin-sama, Karui. You must eliminate him at once!" Zente went to pursuit the old man when Karui stepped in front of him.

"Zente, why would you do such a thing? Even after we just saved all those hostages from those ninjas?" Her face showed her concern for him. Zente couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Are you serious right now Karui? He's getting away! Shin's the one who took the hostages, not Yuuki!" He watched as she became teary eyed.

"Who's Yuuki?" She grabbed her three part staff from behind her and put it together.

Zente's expression jolted. "No way. Has this all been Biton's doing?"

Before she could attack, Karui fell forward and unconscious as Isami took his hand off her. "Bingo. Even Shin is a victim here. I should have seen it sooner. I can see an S-Ranked genjutsu that alters one's perception of reality. If he is not cautious enough to refresh this genjutsu, it will wear off. I think in your cases, it almost did. We have to finish him off before anyone else falls prey to it. Stay here with her. I've got to search the area for him."

"Shin! He'd be going for Shin right now. He's a coward like that." Zente cradled karui's head with anger. "My name is Zente. Is Karui going to be ok?"

Isami smirked. "Isami, and yes, I've already released it. Now I've got to go help my sister. Thanks, I'll be able to do this easily then."

"What is Hell's Phoenix, Isami? He may be messing with me." Zente narrowed his eyes and looked to Isami. "He even admitted to being one for deception." Zente watched as Isami gave him a look of shock.

OoOoOoOo

"You are a gifted fighter, young girl." Nia had been pushed into a corner. Yuuki stood straight with her arms down. She had two clones in front of her staring down her opponent. "I will lay my life on the line to protect Shin-sama. That is my true virtue." Nia's chakra began swelling before becoming an aura. A fire rose around her before being compacted by powerful sparks. Nia was now tanned a heinous amber color. Yuuki jumped back into a fighting stance and felt herself uncontrollably backing up. The clones advanced forward to challenge her. The first one on scene attempted to use gentle fist to halt the chakra, but it was immediately burned and encased in lightning. Her second clone attempted a water jutsu to no avail. Before it could even finish the third hand seal, Nia was already punching it in the heart with immense speed. As it dispersed, Yuuki clenched her chest. The terror and agony of the clones were brought back. _She's on a completely different level now!_

Nia's chakra began to condense around her arm as she cocked her fist back. They were around fifteen meters apart. "You are too naïve of the outside world. If you're lucky, you will survive this attack. I am sorry, but you are too great a threat." A tear formed out of sincerity. As she began to punch forward, Yuuki summoned as many clones as she could to cushion the attack. _Not good! _When she finished the punch, a concentrated bolt of lightning drilled through them and into Yuuki. Her body began ignoring any command she gave it, only drawing pain on demand. A trail of flames carved the ground to her. Yuuki collapsed drifting into a critical state.

OoOoOoOo

"I see, so even you claim he's a fake." Akano dipped his head in thought. His memories of Shin ever saving him became hazy. He looked over Konohamaru and judged him. "You don't appear to be lying. I take no pride in it, but I will surrender to you."

Konohamaru roughed up Takeshi's hair making him swat it off. "Good work, Takeshi. You may have saved this boy's future. What's the situation?"

Takeshi inhaled deeply. "Six sensor ninja, including Akano, attacked us. I urged Yuuki to rescue the hostages. That's really all the information I have."

"I think I can shed light on the situation." A man with an ANBU mask dropped down. The deep blue, long hair dipped an inch away from his shoulders. He removed his wolf mask.

"Isami?" Noriko and Takeshi said at once while Konohamaru gave him a glare.

"Yes, not important. Shin, or all of them for that matter, are not you're opponents." The group stood in shock. Isami walked over to Akano and made a dozen hand seals. "Release!" Akano felt a valve that was seemingly untapped burst. True memories of the day he was captured by Biton returned. The over flow of information sent him to his knees. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Biton!" His mind pulsed pain at the name. Everyone but Isami was confused. "He's one of the four powerful guardians under Shin. It seems he blocked off my true memories and used some sort of genjutsu on me. It made me believe Shin had saved my life." Akano stared to the ground in shame.

Isami shook his head. "Not just you, everyone has been subject to this genjutsu!" Shock came over the entire groups face. Datsu, Kaito, and Noriko dipped their heads in depression.

_What was it Jitto said? Dad? That means Ken too…_

_What was 'opportunity' to Kojo? And was Mila freezing up after she said 'affect'?_

_I knew something wasn't right about him…Jace, just what did you see? _Kaito lifted Jace's blade and looked over it. _Was he subconsciously telling me to watch over his blade?_

As the three searched for answers in their minds, Isami spoke aloud. "You had no way of knowing. We're trained to take the openings our opponents give us. This moment is not easy to cope with, but you can bounce back from it."

"Ahh!" Yuuki's clone fell to the floor, shaking in pain. It attempted to push through the pain and mustered a couple words. "Help…Yuuki!" The clone dispersed finally. Takeshi felt adrenaline burst as he looked to Isami.

Isami searched wildly to find Yuuki down. She wasn't far off. "Yuuki's been hit by a powerful lightning jutsu. She's one hundred meters that way. I've got to get to her!"

"No, let me do it!" Isami's eyes jolted to Noriko.

"Absolutely not! I can make it there faster and withdraw quicker."

"Someone has to take out Biton in order to destroy the genjutsu. Isn't Yuuki fighting an innocent kunoichi?" Isami's mind twist, knowing there was sense to what she was suggesting. "I've mended lighting injuries before." _I promise I won't kill your last teammate, Kojo, Mila._

Konohamaru placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's definitely right. This is their mission, and I'll need your help. End Biton, end the jutsu. Let's go, Isami." Isami clenched his fist.

"We will assist in any way we can. We owe her that much." Kaito pointed his new weapon out with his good hand. _For Jace as well._

"This is our mission. I'm seeing this last fight through." Datsu squared himself up. "I owe her a lot more than this." _Why'd you two have to wear me out so much? I can't redeem myself in this condition._

"Make sure she gets back, Takeshi." Isami locked eyes with the Uchiha. "If you want her to live, go now! She's fighting a jonin level opponent!" Isami and Konohamaru disappeared in a flash.

OoOoOoOo

The group quickly dashed the short distance to find their leader down face first. Takeshi stepped out front with Datsu and Kaito at his back. Noriko set her swords to the side and began assessing the wound. It was clear why Isami wanted to heal her; she barely had a heart beat left. The lighting had made her heart stop likely, but it wasn't clear what made it come back. She should have been dead.

"You must be the rest of them. You're all kids, leave at once! I don't want to kill all of you." Takeshi flashed his sharingan as Datsu created five clones. Kaito twirled the duel blade swiftly to feel the balance of the sword and opened his eyes. Nia tensed up, almost tearing up again. _What's wrong with me, why am I so emotional?_ "Fine, you're all in a hurry to die, I'm more than happy to let you join you're friend in the afterlife."

She used her advanced camouflage technique to try and finish it non-lethally. Datsu was the only one confused. To her surprise, Takeshi charged her and clinched her head. She put her hands down to block his knee and head-butted him away. Takeshi allowed the blood to flow from his brow as he readied himself. Suddenly, she was forced into dodging blades. The man's eyes were closed, but he was able to swing at her with deadly accuracy. On top of that, rain began falling as Datsu's clones began making a small lake. Nia became annoyed quickly.

"I will not underestimate you! Raiton: Raikou Oonami!" She planted her hand on the ground and caught the group with a shock through the ground. She raised her right hand in the air. "Raiton: Sanda Appu!" Nia summoned a ball of lightning in her hand and quickly compressed it. The result was a massive explosion. The jutsu's powerful radius sent everyone flying. Noriko grabbed Yuuki and her swords as they were tossed into the forest line. At the high speed, Noriko spun to take the impact of the tree. Falling to the ground, she smirked over the pain. They'd made it into a safe clearing. _I know she's the only one in good enough condition to fight,_ but _she owes me for that one to!_

OoOoOoOo

"Everyone did it. They managed to overcome their opponents. Did you see the beating they took? Now look at you!" Yuuki could see her clone in her head. The images of everyone beaten bodies projected behind her. Yuuki did as she said and looked herself over. Aside from a burned circle in her arms where she was hit by the lightning. "You don't have the right to give up now. Use that crazy chakra pool you have and finish this fight!" Yuuki felt her strength returning. The clone smiled as she drifted away. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon. And you're welcome, by the way!"

OoOoOoOo

"Wake up!" With a hard slap, Yuuki snapped to. As her hazy vision cleared, Noriko came into focus. She blinked a few times. "Yuuki, you have to focus. My leg is broken, you have to get up and finish the fight. Everyone was hit by a massive explosion. Here." Noriko channeled wind into her sword as Yuuki activated her byakugan. "This is how to manipulate wind chakra." She studied the fine grinding of the chakras closely. "Put you're chakra into this one." Noriko handed her the larger sword. As Yuuki put her chakra in it, a less developed wind chakra began to surround it. "That's it. Try to imagine gritting you're teeth. The harder you push the chakras against each other, the sharper it becomes." She winced, finally applying a bit of healing to her leg. "I'm sure you can figure out water. Listen, she is being brain washed by genjutsu. Now get out of here and help everyone!"

Yuuki held a shocked face, but was determined to keep moving. Datsu and Kaito were out cold. A battered Nia was swiftly advancing towards Takeshi. "Thanks, Noriko. I'll be back before you know it."

OoOoOoOo

"You're quite durable, young man. Allow me to show you the terror you're friend faced." Takeshi watched as she pumped her chakra out and cloaked into an amber colored chakra. _What the? _He began making hand seals. Before he could react, she already kicked him into a tree. The shocking burn made him cringe in pain, before passing out. As she bowed her head to the boy, a massive water vortex smashed her into the tree to her left.

"Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Suddenly, Takeshi dispersed in a cloud of smoke and the ground beneath Nia burst open. Takeshi landed a spinning kick to hit her against the tree once more. As she collided with it, she flexed a lightning aura to blast him away. Takeshi was sent back into the base of a thick tree. He couldn't will his body to move anymore. "Takeshi, you idiot! You shouldn't have used a shadow clone! Your chakra was already low. You'd be dead if I weren't here to save your ass."

Takeshi smiled when he saw her face. "As if…" When his eyes shut, Yuuki pumped her chakra into a blade. Nia pushed off the tree, panting in fatigue.

"You? I saw you die!" Nia struggled to get her aura back up. "And you managed to get your hands on a chakra blade? Why won't you just leave?"

_Her chakra is getting low. That aura Is very risky. _Yuuki readied herself. "I'm going to save you, that's why!"


	12. For Commitment

-A/N-

I know, this took me longer than a week to update. Moving into a new home and creating a new financial budget is a bit more time consuming than I anticipated, but rewarding. Things are going to get exciting for the genin and you can count on a rising tension soon.

**Chapter 12: For Commitment**

"Save me? Are you still going on about that?" Nia felt her heart beat harder. Tears formed up once more. _I need to finish this before I have a breakdown. Something's not right. _The lightning around her sparked out an intense hiss. "This time, I will not hold back." Nia cocked her hand back.

"I was counting on that!" Yuuki imagined grinding the sword to a point. Her teeth gritted as the wind chakra became slightly more refined. _It should be windy enough. I hope this works! _With a scream, she unloaded as much chakra as she could into the sword to make it extend out at an overwhelming velocity. Nia launched her massive lightning storm at Yuuki and the two met with a shockwave. Massive flames sprayed out from several directions. Slowly, Yuuki's wind chakra began slicing through the dense lightning until it split the bolt cleanly in two directions. Upon contact with the orange aura, a massive flame prevented it from slashing through her. From the tree tops, a clone found Nia and unleashed a water vortex on her. Despite the crippling force of the jutsu, Nia still remained conscience. She struggled to get up before falling back to her knees. With all her will, she commanded her aura back. Yuuki backed off again. _She's still going? She's going to die if she uses anymore!_ Not much later, the aura fell apart. Nia curled her hands up to her chest. The once cold women had become a helpless girl.

"You don't have enough chakra left to do anything. Just relax; we aren't trying to hurt Shin either." Yuuki held the sword over her back and approached her. "Nia, Biton has brainwashed everyone into believing Shin is something he's not."

"She's right, Nia." From the forest line, Zente came, stopped, and caught his breath. Karui wasn't far behind. "We've all been played a fool! I don't know how long you've been in this illusion, but that's all it is; an illusion." Nia tensed up.

"Hey, cheer up! Zente said a powerful pervert will help bring Shin back to normal. Then we can all fight to the death!" Zente put a hand over her mouth before she got too excited.

Nia began to sob. "When did it go wrong? I've been with Shin-sama since I was seven." Nia broke into tears now. "Before Biton showed up, everyone was so happy. Then, we left the village. And then…then…" Nia fell forward. _Why'd we leave the village? _The fatigue of the battle had finally caught up to her.

OoOoOoOo

"I can barely see them; they've made it about one-hundred kilometers away." Isami pointed out as the men ran. He then glanced back to see Yuuki lively and Nia unconscious. "It looks like team seven has completed their mission." Konohamaru threw his cigarette away with a smile.

"Of course they did." Konohamaru laughed in his head. "You can see one hundred Kilometers? Damn it, this is going to take a while." Isami grabbed Konohamaru's arm and stopped. Knowing that Isami was thinking, Konohamaru deadpanned his face. "What on earth are you up to now?"

"What, you think I wouldn't have taken precautionary measures for this?" Before Konohamaru could even ask, they were standing on top of Shin. Everyone but Isami's jaw dropped. Isami just pointed down and smiled. "See? My clone put the special symbol on his back when he destroyed it. I could have teleported to them the whole time!"

Before Konohamaru could strangle Isami, Shin formed a blade of hard rock and forced them off his back. Both Isami and Konohamaru gained a long range distance. Isami brought up his hands to make clones, but Konohamaru beat him to the punch. "You kids ever consider the old man wants some action to? Why don't you take down Biton, since your chakra can't be too high right now?" Isami's face straightened as he nodded sarcastically. Shin gained a wide base and immediately became a dense stone. "Rekano would have wanted to do this personally."

Shin's eyes lit up. "So, you're the hero of that village? I can't place my finger on why you seem to be such a familiar face."

Konohamaru lit a cigarette and summoned Enma in diamond staff form. "You may know me better as Konoha's 'Erupting Smoker'." As the two front clones ran forward to encircle Shin, his eyes shot wide. Memories of a shady figure clouded his brain. The clones spread a cloud of hot ash around as Konohamaru jumped into the makeshift ring. With a grin, he pointed his staff. "Looks like the bell has been rung then?"

Shin shook himself off. "Never heard of you. I don't get intimidated by words alone."

Konohamaru narrowed his eyes. "You're being manipulated by Biton. He has been brainwashing you for years. This is your last chance to reconsider."

Biton widened his eyes. "Shin-sama, don't let these pups smooth talk you like that!" Shin rolled his eyes back to Konohamaru and smirked.

"Even if I believed you, I wouldn't pass off an opportunity like this."

Konohamaru charged forward with excitement. "That's what I like to hear!" With a swing of the staff, he slammed through Shin's blade and cracked his left arm. Shin caught himself and jumped back into the fray. As his punch was evaded, a block of stone flew out and clocked Konohamaru square in the face. Using the staff as a stabilizer, he rotated around and spit a fire ball into Shin's face. Following it up, he exhaled a quick fog of ash and cleared the area. With a bite of his teeth, the ashes exploded. "Katon: Haisekisho!" As Shin was thrown out by the explosion, Konohamaru formed a rasengan. Shin attempted to raise his guard, but the spinning ball of chakra struck him square in the abs. "Rasengan!" As if being struck by a powerful shotgun, Shin was tossed to the opposite end of the ring. Even with his rock hard skin, Shin was slow to get up. "You sure can take a lot of damage. It's quite commendable." Konohamaru began rubbing his chin with a grin. "You know how to use stone skin pretty well to. It's a shame fights at our level are decided so quickly!"

Shin's mind ached at him as remembered that same face from his memories. It was of Rekano and Konohamaru after the duel. Shin laughed. "You still have that cigarette and your mouth to. I've gotten rusty." He regained balance and charged forward. "But don't think you can beat me as easily as you beat him." _How did he beat Rekano again?_

Konohamaru giggled in glee. "I'll show you how I got my nickname then. Only because I'm sixty-percent sure you'll live." As Shin came near, Konohamaru planted a foot on his face and pushed off hard. _What's he up to? He doesn't have many long range attacks._ As he was clearing the ring, he flicked his cigarette at Shin's feet. Before Shin could react, ash protruded in several spots out of the ground. He flexed his earth jutsu as strong as he could before the cigarette nicked the cloud. "Good night, Shin!" Isami put on shades as a massive explosion of fire shot up from the ground and launched Shin hundreds of feet sky high. He made his best impression of a meteor as he created a deep crater in the already missing chunk of earth. Biton began forming a hand seal and targeted Konohamaru.

"I don't think so!" The old man's eyes glued open as he fell forward. Konohamaru smiled as Isami finished the fight.

"Nice one Isami! That was not flying thunder god, was it? Where do you come up with those techniques?" Konohamaru rubbed his beard.

Isami released the clone and pushed up the sunglasses. With an indifferent face, he shrugged. "Not my technique."

Konohamaru grew intrigued. "So the old man is still as crafty as he used to be then?"

Isami stuck his arm out with his thumb down. "Wrong again, old man. When it comes to your luck, you really do suck, motha fucka!"

Konohamaru narrowed his eyes. "Alright Killer Bee, then who else could it possibly be?" After the fact, his eyes flickered and he smiled. "Did she already get innovative with shadow clones?" Isami smiled and Konohamaru stroked his chin once more. "Is she really related to you two? Give her a year and you'll be replaced, Isami." The young man scoffed as he picked up the old man.

"Hey, don't act like you didn't pull off an impressive show. Using your clones to fill the earth underneath with explosive smoke as you distract him? Nice work as always, uncle." Isami jumped down into the hole and looked over Shin. The tough bastard was out cold, but he was going to live. After releasing the genjutsu, Isami grabbed him. "I need to fill you in on some information later. I'll take these two back and explain the situation to Rekano. It appears no one is under Biton's genjutsu anymore." With a smile, the ANBU ghost vanished.

OoOoOoOo

"That's the best I can do. It's going to be a week or so before everyone's back up to par. Kaito, you're going to want to wait at least a month." Noriko limped to the other room. Isami waited for her. He took her report and read over it.

"So they were this battered, huh? Kaito: Severed left hand, significant facial wound, dozens of sword injuries, two broken ribs. Datsu: Broken nose, moderate concussion, drained chakra. You: Broken leg, drained chakra, deep sword injuries. Takeshi: Low chakra, seven broken ribs, Lacerations everywhere. Yuuki: Low chakra, near fatal lightning wound, Third degree burn injury." Isami brushed his hand through his hair. "It may have been far too early, but you guys just completed a difficult A-Ranked mission. I dare say no one will deny your battle prowess when you get back. Let me see what I can do to fix you guys up better."

Konohamaru debriefed with Rekano in the other room. After giving him a long winded explanation on what happened, Rekano couldn't help but chain smoke in worry. "In summary, twenty-three hostages were rescued, a bandit organization was dismantled, five experienced criminals with a bounty of one-hundred thousand total were eliminated, recovery of five innocent shinobi, and elimination of the master mind behind all of Shin's attacks. I recommend we give them credit and pay for an A-ranked mission as well as recognize the courage of each genin through the awards system. I also believe Datsu and Kaito are more than formidable enough for the upcoming festivities."

Rekano sat down and digested the information. "There's so much to say and no time to say it in. I don't know how I can thank you for what you have done for my village."

Konohamaru smiled. "Here's what I recommend. Offer all the innocent shinobi's a position in your ranks. I'm certain Akano would make an excellent third member to Datsu's team."

"And what of the injuries? They are pretty serious, so maybe we should keep them all here to recover."

Konohamaru shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. We have Konoha's fourth best medic here. They'll be good to go in two days at the most." Rekano couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in intrigue.

"So I've heard. Are the rumors of the Hokage's son really all true?" Konohamaru nodded his head.

"Honestly, I scarcely get to see him fight. When he does, it's always like a joke to him. Give him four years and he'll likely be rivaling even Naruto. Right now, I believe he is rated third strongest of our village. I'm number four, tied with Kakashi-san. Isami's only eighteen and he's mastered genjutsu, medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and just about anything you can ask about." Rekano chuckled.

"He must be quite the genius, huh?" Konohamaru rolled his eyes at that statement. "A man like that truly never comes around within a hundred years." Rekano rubbed his chin. "If he just got some more seasoned experience about him and learned more about being a leader, I could see him actually becoming a better candidate than you for Hokage, if only by a hair." Konohamaru narrowed his eyes, but shed a smirk. "How do you think Yuuki is doing in comparison?"

Konohamaru scoffed. "It's perplexing just how quickly her potential is expanding. She was an average academy youth two months ago. Once she started training, her chakra pool shot higher than I've ever seen a genins. She is going to be a jonin in no time at all." Rekano nodded, imploring him to continue. "I guess I'll give her a non-biased breakdown; she is the owner of the Byakugan and ice elemental ninjutsu. Most importantly, her intellect in strategy already rivals Shikamaru. Incredibly wise, her father's guts, shadow clone training, and chakra potentially greater than a tailed beast eventually. If she chooses, she will easily be stronger than her brother at his peak in about five years."

Rekano was impressed with Konohamaru's boast. "I look forward to the day. Team Seven of Konoha is back, huh?"

Konohamaru stared into the other room. "I dare say that's an understatement. We may see shinobi at the caliber of the First Hokage and Madara!"

OoOoOoOo

"I'm quite astonished with your healing prowess. How is it even possible?" Noriko moved her leg around, noting its progress. Isami had completely fused the bone back together and had almost finished mending the tissue. He took a moment to wipe off the sweat.

"It wasn't the easiest thing I've done, but having the byakugan really helps. I learned a lot from Takeshi's mother. I'm sure you could branch out and learn from her as well." He paused to give her a smile. "You'll get to my level in no time." Noriko blushed before breaking eye contact with him.

"So, Yuuki and Takeshi would be able to become the best healers out of us. I don't have a fancy dojutsu." Isami shook his head.

"It takes more than a stupid eye to become a great healer. Take Takeshi's mother for example: She has no ninja lineage, and she's the greatest medic on the planet. It takes talent or a strong reason to truly master them." Noriko tilted her head down in consideration. In fact, all of the great medics of Konoha lacked a dojutsu.

"You said talent and motive. What was your reason to learn?" Isami looked over to the other room.

"At first, my younger sister." Isami's face was more sincere than normal. "I've been anticipating this position for a long time, and I've strived to get myself to this point. In the past year, I've given a lot of consideration on my future. If you love someone, you stop at nothing to ensure their safety." Isami looked back to Noriko as she stared into the room. He rose to his feet and laughed. "You saved two lives you know. You have my thanks, and trust." Isami roughed Noriko's hair up before taking his leave.

She smiled as the door shut. "I can see why the Uzumakis are so revered. The sheer level of power and heart is inspirational." As she prepared to go to sleep, she whispered someone's name quietly to herself.

OoOoOoOo

She awoke in panic. As her mind slowly reassured her it was a dream, Yuuki finally regained her breath. Feeling exhausted, she rolled out of bed and headed into the living room. Just when she finished pouring her glass of water, she stopped and stared. Her mind raced, but wasn't really acknowledging any thoughts. It was late, yet she didn't feel the desire to sleep.

"Rough night I take it?" Despite the softness of it, Takeshi's voice made her jump. She quickly grabbed the jug of water and rushed to the fridge.

"Just thirsty. I always drink water at night." Takeshi narrowed his eyes.

"Stop." Takeshi shocked her with a hug. "Just tell me, Yuuki." Tears filled her eyes as she returned the hug. _There's no need for words. From what I heard, she almost died in an instant. _He held her closer. _Yet another time I failed to protect her. _

After a half-hour, she finally mustered words. "Takeshi…don't blame yourself." He stared ahead without a flinch. Yuuki looked up to him, trying to judge his expression through the dark. It wasn't sadness that filled him inside, but he was clearly upset. Takeshi had his sharingan out as he continued to stare out the window. Yuuki activated her byakugan to attempt to find the source of his glare, but could see nothing. _Oh. He doesn't even know he has it activated right now. Is he that mad?_ As she looked up Takeshi sighed.

"When we get back, I'll take my parents up on that intense training." He put his hands on her shoulders and made eye contact. The feint light made their eyes glow in red and purple. "Yuuki, nothing like this will ever-" Before he knew what was happening, Yuuki's lips pressed against his. Just as he began to panic, the smell of lavender soothed him into a moment of bliss. Slowly, they pulled away from each other, locking eyes once more. His stupefied face made Yuuki chuckle before he laughed himself.

After the laughing broke down, only a brief moment ensued. Yuuki spoke first. "I'm not afraid of any enemy. What I feared the most was never showing you how I felt." Takeshi blushed as he rubbed his neck.

"I'm not sure what to say…" Yuuki narrowed her eyes and tilted her head forward. Takeshi sighed before grinning ear-to-ear. "I guess our fears are can be put to rest then." With his approval now clear, Yuuki jumped on him with the tightest hug she could muster. The force nearly knocked Takeshi off his feet, but he maintained his balance. As he stroked her hair, he felt himself immersed in the very scent he longed for. "We both need to get stronger now. You know we'll be catching hell back home." They shared a laugh before going in for another kiss.

OoOoOoOo

As the group ate breakfast, Noriko's eyes shifted between Yuuki and Takeshi. She wasn't the only one either. Isami and Konohamaru had taken note of their chipper moods and gave them a few awkward stares. Finally, Yuuki put her food down in annoyance and looked them over. Everyone attempted to look back to their food. "If it will break the atmosphere in here, yes, we are officially dating." Isami began choking on a stray piece of bacon. Konohamaru did his best to smack it out of him as Noriko's jaw remained profoundly dropped. Yuuki took a glance around the room as Takeshi was tinted a slight red color. Datsu had put his arm around him and whispered in his ear, snickering all the while. Before Yuuki nagged Datsu, Kaito interrupted.

"Yes, well congratulations you two and good luck." All eyes focused on the boy. "Well…not to be rude, but shouldn't we be headed to the main office?" Konohamaru jumped up and nodded.

"Yes, great point. You two have to meet your new team members." Datsu and Kaito both made eye contact with each other.

"Hnnn?"

OoOoOoOo

Rekano enjoyed a relaxing sit with a fresh cup of hot coffee. His morning was surprisingly peaceful in comparison to normal. Just as he went for a sip, the door slammed open. "Hey, what the hell is this bull shit about new team members?" Rekano had anticipated such an interruption, yet barely managed to save his coffee. That is, until Datsu took it from his hands and chugged it. After disposing of it properly (A.K.A. throwing the glass out his window), Datsu began running around in pain. "HOT! HOT! I think I'm gonna-"

A loud slamming of the desk cut off the interruption as Rekano restrained his ninja assassin instincts. "Datsu, if you cannot relax, I will be forced to strangle you to death. We don't want that, now do we?" Datsu only needed one look at Rekano to note the sincerity in his words. As the group caught up, a mild chatter soon became a loquacious mess. Rekano rubbed his eyebrows until a new voice entered the scene.

"That's enough out of all of you!" Everyone now looked at the source of the disruption. Every genins' jaw dropped. As he entered the room, Shin sighed. "I guess you weren't debriefed fully yet. Damn."

"Are you sure these two are even remotely compatible with my skills? How were they an acceptable team in the first place?" Akano was quick to judge his new peers. Datsu narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, who the hell are these guys? They seem like they want to fight! And why do they have our head band? And what's up with this fruit cake in robes?" Before Datsu was annihilated by the room, even more people appeared behind them.

"I'll go in order of rank." The women pointed to Shin. "This is Shin-sama. He is an ex-jonin who has returned to the village after ten years. He will be your new sensei." Datsu's jaw dropped and Kaito exhaled slightly heavier out his nose. She now pointed to herself. "I'm Nia. I'm seventeen and have been placed in charge of my two friends here." A quick point to the couple behind her lightened the atmosphere. "The one who's afraid of girls over there is Zente." She pointed to an irked man.

"Come on! You can't just stomp my reputation right off the bat like that! Its only CROWDS of girls, get it?" Karui patted him on the back as he sulked.

"Aww, cheer up pervert! I'll introduce you for you." The blond turned to them with a deviously joyous smile. "This is Zente, he's a pervert." If it was possible, Zente sank his head a bit lower. She put her hand on her modest chest. "I'm Karui! We've graciously been given the rank of chunin after a quick assessment, so hurry up and get to our rank!" Yuuki grinned when Karui gave her a wink. "Oh! And this guy here is Akano. Don't let his weak demeanor fool you, he's really quite sturdy. And If I remember correctly, you two needed a sensor type anyways." Both Akano and Datsu glared at Karui.

"Outstanding, now let's just get this over with. We're going on a collaboration mission for two months to Konoha. Pack." Datsu put his foot down finally.

"Whoa, what the hell? We're not going to even check the structure of the team before we go? And can I at least pick our team name?" Rekano heard Datsu out, knowing that he probably spoke in place of Kaito as well.

"If it will shut you up, yes, think of a name. There's really no time for these kind of-"

"Team Seven!" After all the ridiculous things he'd done, you'd think they would have just opened their jaws beforehand. Before anyone began screaming at him, Datsu pulled back. "Of the Hidden Rivers of course! I know, I know! I was joking, but I think it would be healthy competition for when Konoha's Team Seven is gone. I think it's fair we make a unanimous team decision." Now this was a treat Rekano had never seen before. Datsu was being reasonable.

Kaito approached Akano, who was feeling a little out of place. Rekano witnessed as Kaito unsheathed his hand and extended it towards Akano. "My name is Kaito, and that loud mouth fool is Datsu. I hope you're ready to be a river ninja." Akano accepted the hand shake quietly and Shin nodded ever so slightly.

"If there's nothing else, sir, I'd like to get us named and on our way." Rekano snapped out of his daze in order to answer his old teammate.

"Yes, you're right." The three river genins faced their kage. "You're mission is to attend the chunin exams in two months. It's more of a vacation if you ask me." Datsu's eyes lit up. "You should thank Akano, for you can't enter without three-man teams." Datsu could have kissed Akano on the spot. "The leaf has been our ally through our entire history, yet it is only us who have received aid. I want you three to build our nations reputation, so don't waste these two months siting on your asses and making a mess. That leaves just one thing: Your team name.

Shin looked at Datsu and Kaito. They both seemed to agree with Datsu's plan. Akano straight told his new sensei he didn't give two shits about the name. Shin turned to Rekano and smiled. "Looks like you'll be calling us team seven from now on. Yay…"

Konohamaru smirked. "May the best team Seven win then?"

Rekano smirked at the lightning that bounced between the two teams. "Alright, you'll be later than expected at this rate. Get going Team Sevens!" With an explosion of leaves, Isami arrived on scene.

"Got it." Before he blinked and noticed the mess, Isami had already flashed everyone but Rekano out of the room.

Instead of getting mad, Rekano propped his feet up and enjoyed the silence. "At least Datsu will be gone and I'll have time to think." As he crossed his arms behind his head, he looked out his window. "I wonder when I should tell him." Rekano lit up his cigarette. "Maybe he's getting old enough to handle something like that now."

OoOoOoOo

"You never saw me." Isami put his wolf mask on before disappearing solo once more.

"Oh thank god!" Everyone set down their stuff and basked in the fact that their walk was shaved to around two miles. It didn't take long for Yuuki to notice the three chunin. "Aw crap, did he really take you guys on accident?"

Zente sighed. "Yes he did. Luckily, we were given a supervision role until team seven is all set. Are jobs were supposed to be in a couple weeks, but I guess we can start early…" He cringed at the amount of things in his pack. "I've never liked paperwork. I can't stand it in fact."

"Alright, enough complaining. Let's get this mission report out of the way." Shin rolled his head over to Konohamaru, who gave him a nod.

As they made their way to the gates, the six genins were dismissed. It was early in the day, so there was no point in dragging them all into the Hokage's office.

Isami dropped by the team sevens once more. Yuuki crossed her arms. "I'm not here to cause any trouble. Listen, you all need to start some serious training, as the fights are only going to get better from here on out." The group looked each other over before looking back to him. "Alright, so you have been training pretty hard, but I recommend you have a team seven and team seven training team to help team seven adjust properly to team seven's fighting styles before the exam." He rolled his eyes up to attempt to rehash what he said.

"I think that's a great idea. That way I can find out if this robe wearing snob is any good." Akano glared at him.

"As much as I would be inclined to indulge in showing you up, I believe it is necessary to train in teamwork today." Datsu sneered at his proper etiquette.

"Actually I was planning on that. Do it the day before the exam, as there's much to be discussed and learned beforehand." Isami created two clones. "Follow this clone; he'll take you to training field nine. I will inform your sensei on your whereabouts." Isami turned to his sister. "Yuuki, can I have a word with you for a moment?" She and Takeshi shrugged and she was teleported far away.

OoOoOoOo

"Isami, what the hell!" Yuuki went to physically assault her brother when she noted his serious demeanor. She withdrew her fist and crossed her arms. "What?"

Isami rubbed his chin with his byakugan active. "I've been working on a theory for a while now, but I think you're by far the best shot I have at really collecting the data."

Yuuki raised an eyebrow. "Really? Since when do you think?" Isami remained uncommonly quiet. Yuuki sighed. "Alright, if I help you out, will you take me back home?"

Isami smirked as he deactivated his byakugan. "First, I think I should inform you of the study." Yuuki wouldn't show it, but she was curious about it. "What do you know about chakra growth?"

Yuuki rolled her eyes at another one of his famous controversy questions. "Well, if we're talking growth, then the more battles you fight and the older you get, the more you end up gaining. Basically, if I used chakra every day, then I would naturally gain more. Of course we could go into the theory of chakra itself, but that's the gest." Isami smiled again.

"Yeah, screw that. Not that I completely disagree, but this is what I'm thinking: Chakra pools are naturally increased the more you tap it out. We can infer that these experiences have usually come from life-threatening fights. However, you have tapped yourself almost dry before and emerged stronger. Even though genetics are a definite advantage in your case, I think one of the two situations mentioned have increased your pool." Yuuki crossed her arms and gave him serious consideration.

"So you want me to drain my chakra dry and see if it increases again in a few days?" Isami's face twitched as she saw through his scheme.

"Alright, yes I do. But that doesn't go without some sort of productivity. There's a technique dad wanted me to teach you when you were ready." Yuuki watched as Isami held his palm out. Her blood raced as the chakra swirled into a fine ball.

"Rasengan…" Yuuki's eyes transfixed on it in awe. Isami let her experience it before letting it fade away. It wasn't long before Yuuki was grinning at him.

"That's right! Listen carefully: Power, spin, and compact." He walked to the tree line and planted an imprint of the three steps on one. "Focus hard and you'll master it in no time." He turned to her and smirked. "My record was five days. Dad did it in a week, but before that, our grandfather invented it in three years. Don't beat yourself up if you can't do it as quick. I won't help you do it, but I will be watching silently from the distance. You won't hurt yourself while I'm around." Yuuki held feint disappointment in her eyes. Isami put his hand on her shoulder. "Takeshi will understand. It's going to be a busy two months for both of you." Yuuki nodded as she put up a single hand seal.

"I'll finish this in a couple hours! Taijuu kage bunshin no jutsu!" Isami put on his wolf mask with a smile as a hundred clones coated the remote field. "Alright, you all know the plan." The crowd partnered up. One of them would do basic concentration in their hand and the other would use the byakugan to analyze and brainstorm. Yuuki herself took both roles.

_Ok, focus chakra into my hand…check. _She only used just enough to create a subtle glow. _Alright, now I need to spin it. _Yuuki put all of her imagination on ways of spinning it while keeping her chakra use low. After a few trial and errors, she put her hands down. It had already been ten minutes. "Alright, let's see what everyone came up with." She released her clones and felt a strong relief hit her. _Ok, concentrate…check. Interesting, now I'll try using the rotation of my chakra coils…_The chakra slowly began to twist. Yuuki smiled as she focused on increasing the rotation speed. _Bingo. _Faster and faster she spun it, until it molded itself into a shallow discus shape. _Wait a minute, this is completely wrong. I think Isami wanted me to start with power…hmm._ Yuuki continued to spin her chakra even faster. The chakra began to pancake and glow brighter. As she pushed it as hard as she could, her teeth gritted. _That's the fastest I can go. Let's see what I got._ "Ha!" She slammed it against a tree and like a hot knife through butter, it was severed clean through. The chakra still remained its vibrant color as she continued to slash through trees. _This isn't the same at all, but you can't say I don't know how to spin chakra. _She eased it out and took a minute to process what to do next.

"Well, that was unexpected." Isami stood behind her with his arms crossed. As she turned to him, he mimicked her move. "I never thought to emphasize the spin over power. Looks like a destructo disc." Yuuki narrowed her eyes at him. "Before you ask, yes, I just made that up." He allowed it to dissipate. "Regardless, you have one of the steps down. You should have probably paid more attention, but it should be fine. Here," He tossed her two rubber balls. "Break one of those with chakra alone, and then break the other one with a more refined method please." Yuuki judged the balls' density. It was a very strong rubber, not even feasible to squeeze. "I'll be gone for thirty minutes. And I could say something right now, but I don't think that's even necessary. Don't have too much fun little sister."

With a powerful burst of rage, she unloaded at massive influx of power into the ball and violently blasted it open. Isami's jaw dropped. "How's that for power? Don't put me on the same level as you, pervert!" Isami took a final good look at his sister. _When did she get so strong?_

Isami slowly turned away before half looking back. _I don't think it's fair for anyone to fight her as a genin. _"Take it easy, killer. I'll be back before you run dry. And let me know if you meet anyone interesting. That's the second reason for this experiment." Isami disappeared in a flash once more.

_Is it really supposed to be that hard?_ She focused her chakra until it held a firm pressure and began spinning it. The added strength bloated the disk and made it more difficult to get its velocity faster. The rubber ball melted with a hiss. _I guess I just have to focus on making a ball like Isami did now. _She clinched her hand before opening it slowly. _That's weird, I've barely even broken a sweat and my chakra hasn't even dipped under ninety percent…who is this mysterious stranger he was talking about? Whatever, _"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Isami watched intently from a distance as his sister unleashed more clones than he could track. "This is more than I ever could have anticipated. Her chakra pool just keeps expanding! I think it's getting close to bijuu level already. I know this can't just be a coincidence." He put his palm on the ground. "I need to consult dad on this one."

OoOoOoOo

"So that's it in a nutshell. I take full responsibility for neglecting their safety." Naruto put his hand against his head.

Isami made it to the meeting just as Konohamaru's debrief concluded.

"No, this isn't your fault. I would have made the same decision. Still, Isami was with them. If I know any better, it was Yuuki that persuaded everyone to trust the fight to her." Naruto exhaled. "She takes after me too much." Naruto made stern eye contact with Isami. "I won't sit here and tell you that you almost left your sister to die, only because I know you trusted her ability. However, something like this is never going to happen again. I know you had to work in the shadows, and Yuuki is pretty observant, but you have to compromise sometimes."

Isami took his mask off and bowed his head slightly. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but Yuuki managed to discover me before the mission. As the mission progressed, I revealed myself to the team." Naruto narrowed his eyes. Isami glanced away. "I never took an eye off of Yuuki, but I also knew that Noriko could heal her. Yuuki survived because her unharmed shadow clone and the barrier she made out of shadow clones." Naruto listened to Isami impatiently. "I have reason to believe Biton was working under direction of Hell's Phoenix." Naruto's hand stopped tapping. Isami stood normal again. "After analyzing his chakra, it almost felt like it didn't fully belong to him. On top of that, he stated to Zente that he was a member of Hell's Phoenix, known as the One for Deception. Not to mention that defeating Biton would have cancelled the jutsu genjutsu Nia was under, aiding Yuuki in the process." Nia nodded her head slightly.

Naruto shifted in his seat to a more relaxed position. "Alright, we'll be collaborating with the village hidden in the rivers on this matter."

"One more thing, if I may add Hokage-sama." Naruto's eyes pierced through Nia's as she spoke, sending a chill down her spine. "Your daughter would have overpowered me, even as I used my greatest skill. I know I can't undo what I did, but even after the fact, she was set on saving me. It speaks worlds for her character." Naruto nodded slightly and eased on the glare. "But are you sure it's safe for her to face other genin in the exam? She bested me, and I'm apparently near jonin level." Naruto smirked.

"Yuuki wouldn't be so careless as to seriously harm others without reason. I think you also underestimate some of our other genin teams here, as well as your own team seven. The talent coming in the next exam is going to be badass. You may even learn something from watching it." Naruto rose with a satisfied look on his face and Isami felt more relaxed, but still concerned. _I don't think he fully understands the Yuuki we've seen._ "I'll talk more with you two later, but first, we need to get our guest a place to stay."

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure you want to start today?" Takeshi stared at his parents with confidence. Sasuke formed a smile. "Good, just don't expect this to be painless. Sakura is our greatest healer, so that means broken bones can be mended." Takeshi felt sweat trickle down his neck as he looked at his mother.

Sakura put on her battle gloves and smiled herself. "I'm only doing this because I love you, Takeshi." Before he knew it, Sakura blasted him in the ribs with a crushing punch. Takeshi flew into a rock and felt himself break. However, before he could pass out, his wounds quickly healed. All the pain of the strike was there, but no evidence of an attack was shown. "I swear this isn't just to torture you. The technique I use sets a delayed heal to occur throughout the body. Your bone strength and pain tolerance are going to sky rocket." Takeshi forced himself up and unleashed his sharingan. However, he was electrocuted without warning.

"If you can't see my blade swing, you will never be able to evade it." Takeshi shook himself back into the training and focused chakra into his ears and feet. Sasuke took a slower test swing and watched as Takeshi evaded it by an inch. This made his father smirk. "I see you've learned a few tricks then. This should be more fun than training Hitomi." Takeshi thought to himself. _I hope Yuuki's got it easier than I do…speaking of which, when should I tell mother and father about us?_

OoOoOoOo

"Hey, you made it!" Noriko approached the man as she drew her swords without a response. "Straight to training then? Oh well." He pulled out a kunai and pointed it downwards. In the other hand, he gathered a green chakra. "A medic needs to be able to avoid every attack, no matter what. If you go down, who else will keep the team alive and battle ready?"

"I'm not a pushover, but I know how powerful you are. Isami-San, please train me as much as you can." Noriko dashed at him and began a flurry of fluent slashes. To her surprise, he simply parried her blows with a standard kunai. Before she could continue, He pelted her in the solar plexus. His movements were too fast to even react.

"First step, don't get hit. I think that's right anyways…" Isami seemed to be having a good time as she struggled for breath. "I wouldn't wear yourself down with those swords." Noriko grinned at him. "I'm telling you, it won't work."

Noriko jumped in the air and channeled lightning and wind chakra in either blade. However, Isami just smiled right back. She lashed out with even greater speed, but now he simply dodged every blow. Even as she varied the amount wind chakra, it seemed to just pass over him. She withdrew and gathered a mass of wind chakra before swinging as hard as possible. "How are you not even getting scratched?"

Isami caught the blade and canceled the wind chakra. "Did it ever occur to you that I can use wind chakra to?" Her eyes shot open as he shoved her blade up. Next she felt like freezing rain was pelting her body. Before she knew it, she fell. Isami crossed his arms. "Are you going to cool your head?" Noriko couldn't budge her limbs no matter how hard she tried. _No way, I barely saw a second of movement and he already closed my chakra highway? _Isami jolted. "On second thought, I've got to go real quick. Don't go anywhere!" Isami flashed away as Noriko gritted her teeth.

"Bastard, I can't go anywhere! At least undo this first!"

OoOoOoOo

The clone pointed from the bushes at Yuuki. "She's too fast." As it dispersed, Isami stared wide eyed at the battered area Yuuki had carved. Yuuki herself took a deep breath after releasing her clones.

"I hope you're watching out there: Both of you!" Isami felt a hand on his shoulder as Naruto watched.

"Sorry to stop by uninvited, but this isn't something I want to miss." Yuuki curled her arm up and spun her chakra swiftly. After that, the chakra grew more intense and finally compacted. Once she was satisfied, she turned their way as they came into view. Naruto crossed his arm with shock as he noted it was a legit rasengan. "Wait, how long have you been learning that jutsu?" Naruto looked to Isami.

Isami smiled as he put his hands behind his head. "About one hour and thirty minutes. However, according to my clone, about an hour of it was spent with around two-hundred clones on average. Soo, if you want to get technical, about eight days. Took you long enough, sis." Being the first time Naruto knew of her chakra and skill with clones, his jaw dropped.

Yuuki smiled as she lifted the ball of chakra. "A loop hole is a loop hole. One and a half hours is the new record, officially of course." Isami narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying now?" Yuuki held out her other hand and formed another rasengan, this time silencing both of them.

"Seriously, I've had it down for a while." She let them dissipate in her hands before looking back to them. "More importantly, why is my chakra pool growing so fast? I've been a genin for two months and my chakra has already increased fifty-fold. That's not normal." Isami and Naruto sighed as they looked at each other. Her dad gave her the first response.

"How much do you know about the nine-tails sealed within me, Yuuki?"

She crossed her arms. "It's the most powerful bijuu alive, it has super-fast healing, and it was once considered pure evil."

Naruto shrugged a little. "Well, yes, but it's not so evil anymore." 'Screw you, my fury crushed the world in a crippling fear for centuries! The great Kyuubi will not toler' _Shut the hell up while I'm talking Kurama!_ "Anyways, there's something I've known for a while now: The fox has been gathering and sealing my chakra for decades. I assume he gave it to you, if that makes sense." Isami jolted up.

"Maybe that's it! Between dad's countless attempts at creating an ice jutsu and the Kyuubi's gift, I'd say that is the source of all this."

Yuuki gave it another shovel deeper. "If all of this is genetic, then why is it only just now kicking in, and why doesn't Isami have this?" Isami sank into a thought.

"To my understanding, these were meant to slowly unlock as you grew older." Isami narrowed his eyes. "But this isn't just an ordinary progression. Something must have jammed it in a trickle state. And I have a theory as to why I don't have nearly as much chakra."

Naruto seemed to be dazed in thought. Not before long, he snapped back to reality. "Seems like you're right. He won't give me a good reason for it, bastard. I'll dig for a while, but for now we'll just patch the break. You can handle that, right Isami?"

_The fox knows more than he's letting on…shame he's always going to sleep now. _"It might sting a little…" He focused chakra into his fingers and jabbed it into Yuuki stomach. She felt as if her coils themselves were incinerated. After a few seconds, the pain went away and she actually felt better. "That seal I gave you stopped your chakra pool from expanding so rapidly. It'll still grow naturally and will even call on the added pool when you're in a stressful situation. However, once it expands your pool, you can't contract it. Everyone can only handle so much before it becomes overwhelming. Don't try too hard; while it seems your body can handle it, you have more than enough to last you ten years."

Yuuki looked down and touched where his palm hit. He gave her a quick wink. With a slight smirk she nodded back to him. Naruto put his hands on the group and smiled. "Well, I've got things to do. Make sure you two get home at a good hour. And Yuuki…" She looked at him, anticipating a scold. "Great job on the mission. If you want to talk about anything you feel went bad, I'm all ears. However, in my eyes you went above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference. Congratulations on learning the rasengan to!" _Maybe she does have what it takes to get involved in this coming fight. _Naruto disappeared and Isami turned to her.

"Yuuki, your body can support at least double your current chakra right now. Food for thought." Isami grinned at her shock before he put on a sober face. "Since you've mastered the rasengan so quickly, what do you plan on doing now? I know you have an idea."

Yuuki crossed her arms and thought. "There is something, but I have more pressing issues at hand. If I'm going to do well in the chunin exams, I need to round off flaws in my game. I know genjutsu is the major one right now, but I need to consider speed as well. I wouldn't mind being handy with a blade as well." Isami reached in his pack for blank cards and channeled chakra into them. Yuuki tilted her head.

"I took the liberty of bringing these with me. All I do is focus on whom I need basic stats of and it will roughly tell me. When you get your picture taken as a ninja, it also takes a sample of your chakra and calculates the stats." He lifted his hand and felt his hairs rise. _There's no way she's going to have competition in these exams if she rounds herself off._ "This, however, I definitely didn't expect!"

-A/N-

Another cliffhanger, how dare I? You'll see how I designed my statistic spreadsheet for all the characters, as well as a major character being introduced. No, Yuuki is not going to be a canon Naruto knock off if that's what you're thinking. Review to help me better myself, read to see if you can call it!


	13. Hidden Leaves Indeed

A/N

Chapter is long, but I think it's pretty crazy. Don't let the length stop you ;)

**CHAPTER 13: Hidden Leaves Indeed**

"So what exactly is this telling me?" Yuuki observed the immensely different cards. The older one barely had a mark in it, but the newer one had a funky shape to it. She made the comment to make Isami get to point.

"These are your recorded stats as you became a genin. They are on a scale from one to ten, ten being elite jonin level." Yuuki observed the card. _Toughness: 3; Willpower: 6; Intelligence: 7; Battle sense: 4; Chakra: 2; Speed: 3; Taijutsu: 2; Tools: 4; Genjutsu: 1; Ninjutsu: 2; Kenjutsu: 2. Total chakra pool: 210_" Your overall stats gave you a rating of Three and a quarter points out of ten. That's about as standard as it gets, aside from stats above 5 and below 2. Average chakra pool is about eight-hundred points. As you can tell, you were below average." Yuuki felt subtle disappointment as she noted the score. How does a stupid paper have the right to judge her? Isami laughed. "Don't worry, you've gotten way better." He laid down another stat card. This one had the missions she'd accomplished as well. _Let's see…Toughness: 5; Willpower: 8; Intelligence: 8; Chakra 11! What the? _She continued to glance at the remaining stats, but made a mental note on the chakra. _Speed: 6; Taijutsu: 6; Tools: 5; Genjutsu: 1; Ninjutsu: 7; Kenjutsu: 5._

Hold on a sec-"

"I know, I said it was one to ten, ten being elite jonin level, right?" Yuuki felt the shock Isami held earlier. "That's right; the scale can actually max out at fifteen. The chakra stat combines chakra pool, kekkei genkais, and overall control. Currently, Dad's is the one taking fifteen. Typically, stats above ten tell you what has become Kage worthy."

Yuuki glanced at her chakra pool. "Woah, 20,200 points? Is this really accurate?" Isami smiled.

"Now you can see why dad is so concerned. His chakra pool is around 100,000. That's including the chakra of the Kyuubi." She nodded her head. "When he was your age, he only had about 6,500. As far as I can tell, you already have one of the top ten chakra pools in the world. Besides, your overall average is six and a half. That's even with your genjutsu crutch." Yuuki pushed the scrolls away, remembering her earlier critique.

"In the end, it's just paper. I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but is it really able to read the individual's mood, or what they are truly capable of under pressure? It seems to me that it's just a rough estimate." Yuuki set her extra baggage down as Isami nodded lightly.

"Alright, I can see what you're saying. I don't want you becoming obsessed with power and feeling like you have to always be the savior, that's all. If anything, now you know what areas to improve upon. I say, if it's under five, fix it." Isami glanced up and focused back to her. _If it's under five…ridiculous. That's only genjutsu. _"It's noon right now, so I'll come back in a few hours." Isami shuffled in his bag and pulled out several scrolls. "These are genjutsu scrolls. You'll find everything you need for the basics and then some. It's not the same as ninjutsu, so it will take a while." He seemed to think of something and smiled. "As a matter of fact, here's some wind and water jutsu's. I planned on showing you a few things, but I know you're the self-learning type." Isami planted his hand on a seal and two massive scrolls came out. "I want you to think of your own style, so I'll just give you a bunch of different jutsus." He scratched his head. "Yup, I'm sure that will do for now. See you soon." Isami gave her a nod and prepared to leave. "Oh, and if I've analyzed it properly, you'll meet someone you've always known very soon." He vanished at her puzzled face. With a sigh, she made a clone and lay on the ground.

"What on earth is he talking about? How can I _meet _someone I've _always_ known? And why doesn't dad want me to get strong so quickly?" She looked over to her clone with a confused face. "Is it really that hard for him to see how much I can help in this fight?" Her clone shrugged.

"I'm just a lowly clone, but I already knew what you were wondering. If you're looking for an indulging conversation, then I really can't help you." Yuuki narrowed her eyes.

"But you can think of _something_ can't you? That wasn't a typical response…"

The clone looked away swiftly. "Right now, I'm considering what I can do with the rasengan. Aren't you going to take a nap or something?" Yuuki scoffed before realizing that minor detail. She rolled up.

"Hey, that's it! I wanted you to work on those scrolls, but you're more interested in the rasengan." The clone tightened its shoulders.

"Look, you want to work on the scrolls, but you wanted to tinker with the rasengan to, right? What do you think I am, a zombie?" Yuuki began shaking the clone.

"No, that's the point! Why should I just try to make you guys focus on one thing when I could make you focus on several things?" The clone had an 'ah ha!' moment to mask the relief. Yuuki twitched an eye at the reaction.

"That way, we can start rounding ourselves off, rather than shooting up one area and neglecting the other. Why not have a few clones work on the rasengan, a few read about genjutsu, and a few on those ninjutsus while we're at it?" Yuuki and her clone smacked hands.

"That's what I'm talking about! I knew talking to myself wasn't weird!"

The clone smiled. "It's a little weird." Yuuki maintained her smile, but felt strange. _Ourselves? We're? Maybe I'm underestimating the individuality of clones._

OoOoOoOo

"That's enough!" Noriko was barely able to stand under the power of his blade. "You're quite skilled for your age, but I think you should work on keeping defensive. Kenjutsu isn't just about offense, you know? And try to remember what I taught you about healing."

Noriko rolled her eyes. "I know, each wound needs to be treated with fine chakra control, but the frequency of your chakra must change depending on the wound, body mass index, and the chakra of the individual as well. How the hell am I supposed to pick up on all of this?"

Isami smiled. "How did Takeshi's mother do it? As a matter of fact, how did your mother do it?" She stopped to consider the possibilities again. "I think one of your teammates has already discovered one of the methods." She narrowed her eyes.

"Of course, the byakugan is ideal for medical ninjutsu." Isami just nodded in disagreement, which she huffed more about. "That goes for the sharingan as well."

Isami let out a sigh. "Do you really think Takeshi would use the sharingan if it wasn't necessary? Either way, I need to call it quits for the day." His face became serious. "You have important things at home to discuss with your father."

Noriko looked down to the ground she sat on. "I'm sure I can guess that already." Isami watched the young girl, unable to offer any advice. _She's going to need to be strong on this one. It helps that she seems semi-aware._

"Don't let you beat yourself up." Isami faded into the wind, leaving a trail of leaves to mark his exit.

OoOoOoOo

The blade scraped his nose as he dodged the fastest he could. Despite the fact that it was still only at half-speed, Takeshi was quite proud of how well he was doing. Sasuke whipped his sword and sheathed it, only to for Takeshi to take a final blow to the face from his mother. The force threw him several meters and into a rock.

"Alright, that should be enough for today. That should have knocked him out cold." Takeshi lay motionless as Sakura stood straight.

"He's pretty tough as is, huh? I've been holding back, but a typical boy his age would have quit after the first two hits." She began to walk towards her son until Takeshi began to rise up and settle his hands on his knees. She was taken back. "That's impossible; I made sure to safely knock him unconscious without giving him a chance to recover. That move doesn't fail!" Sasuke stared at his son as he gasped for air. The dried blood that coated his body glistened now as sweat trickled out.

"He probably is unconscious. His body just refuses to give up." Sasuke began to approach him. "I've seen this before. That's dangerous for him."

"I'm…not unconscious." Takeshi smirked as he looked up at his shocked parents. "I'm just getting warmed up!" The young man's sheer adamancy was more than they were expecting. "Whenever you're ready to start the training…"

"That's enough, Takeshi!" Another voice entered the scene. Hitomi appeared before him with a suspecting face. "Can we have a moment to talk?" Sasuke nudged his wife and signaled towards the house. As they left, Hitomi got face-to-face with Takeshi. "So, training hard already, are we?" He smiled as she narrowed her eyes. "I've heard the mission report, but what else happened while you were gone? And don't even think about lying!"

Takeshi began sweating. "Nothing, I just want to get stronger and be more useful to my team, that's all! Honestly, absolutely no other reason I would be training this hard." He laughed nervously and basically gave himself away.

Hitomi's scowl never left as she fish hooked his mouth. "Listen here, I want details. I'll start making things up if you don't tell me right now!" This was the worst case scenario for him to be in. Who knows what she would come up with, and he was too exhausted to put up a good farce.

"Ok, fine! Can I at least sit down?" She smiled like an innocent teen and allowed him to have his cheek back. Takeshi mumbled some choice words as he sat on the ground. "Don't go spreading it around, but Yuuki and I are…well, you know…" Her eyes grew wide with a foxy grin.

"Screwing?" His whole body turned red as jumped back up to muffle her mouth.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Is it going to be like this the whole time I'm with her?" Hitomi hugged him with a squeal.

"No! This is a long time coming, and its big step for you two. How long ago did it happen?" He pried himself away from her and considered the time.

"Well, about twelve hours ago." Hitomi bonked him on the head and leered at him.

"And where do you plan on taking her in that condition, dumbass!" She bonked him a couple more times. "Did you even ask her on a date tonight?"

Takeshi rubbed his head and freaked out about what his sister was preaching. "Ah, you're right!"

She slapped him. "Of course I'm right!"

"She took off with Isami and started training before I had the chance!"

Hitomi slapped him again. "That bastard!"

"How is jarring my brain helping the situation?" They stared at each other for a silent moment.

"I don't know!" She proceeded to do it once more. "I can fix this. Brb."

Takeshi rubbed his head and watched as she flashed away. "Wait, what the hell does brb mean?"

OoOoOoOo

Hitomi arrived at their apartment. The whole district they were on was fairly nice, two bedroom, one bath houses with a full kitchen, living room, and guest room. As she entered the door, she was greeted by a friendly voice.

"Hey, Hitomi! You'll never guess what he did this time!" The women walked down the stairs and greeted her. Hitomi responded by vigorously shaking her.

"Kochi, can't you see there's no time for this! Yuuki and Takeshi are together and haven't even thought about planning a date tonight! Meanwhile, Isami took Yuuki somewhere to train and lord knows what he's planning!"

Kochi took a minute to unscramble her brains before responding. "What makes you think I know where he's at, or what he's thinking?" Hitomi began shaking her again.

"Because you should, that's why!" Hitomi restrained herself before interrogating her further. "Can't you do some crazy Inuzuka thing to track him down, or call him?" Kochi nodded her head no.

"You know, there is one way we can guarantee he shows up. It will work faster if you help me." Hitomi began blushing.

"Oh, come on! You two really don't know the meaning of self-restraint! The answer's no." Kochi began laughing before returning to the subject.

"It's just called being open to new things. Besides, it's not like I really want to force anything on you. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, I'll be right back with him. Give me a minute." Hitomi raised an eyebrow as Kochi went upstairs. Not even five minutes later, she came back with an upset Isami. "Alright, here he is. Now let's figure this out, shall we?"

Hitomi instinctively questioned her. "How did you just…" Kochi just gave her a look as she re-adjusted her clothes. "Right, it's Isami we're talking about." Hitomi kneed him in the gut. _Perverted bastard…even after all this time._

OoOoOoOo

"Alright, everyone ready?" The groups of clones gathered around and planned out the order. Yuuki made a choice. "Alright, we'll start with genjutsu. Ready?" The genjutsu group dispersed and she awaited the information. Within a moment she could recall the basics of what she needed to do. _It takes a different ratio of chakra than the standard mix. So basically, if I can focus my mind hard enough, I can break most genjutsu. If I apply this specific chakra to my mind, I could potentially make them experience hallucinations. I'd need a medium though…whatever. _"Alright, next I want the group who studied ninjutsu scrolls to dispel." Again, she felt knowledge rush into her body. _Awesome, I'll tinker with those later. _"Let's do this! Rasengan group." Once more, she was pounded with several ideas on the rasengan, but one stuck out and seemed to be coming along well. She held out her hand and focused on her finger. Slowly but surely, chakra gathered into a swirl and began expanding into a small sphere. _Well, I've got one small rasengan on one finger. _She looked at the others and attempted to follow suit, but lost the initial one._ Now I just need to figure that out._

"That's a tough one. But I think you know what would be a better point to focus on first." The original clone stepped toward her and crossed her arms. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Yuuki waited in anticipation. _Since when have I ever had the inclination to pull my hair up?_ "I think the rasengan is a little risky right now, in a battle situation." Yuuki crossed her arms now. _I think it's just this clone that's super free spirited._

"Interesting, care to explain? Just out of curiosity, I'd rather hear it from you." The clone smiled.

"Well, don't you think it takes too long to form? I think if we break it down into a science, we could form it in the blink of an eye. It'd be like a controlled blast." Yuuki nodded her head.

"That's…actually a great point. I didn't realize it at all." The clone smiled as she formed a rasengan about twice as fast as Yuuki herself could. "Sorry, I deviated from the plan again. I'm not your standard clone anyways." Yuuki's jaw dropped.

"This, I've deduced by now…What are you, if not a shadow clone?" She just laughed.

"Let me be more specific. I am a shadow clone, but there is more to you than you even realize. If circumstances were just a little different, I would be your twin." Yuuki couldn't seem to fully grasp the situation. _Who is this clone, another piece of me? _The clone proceeded. "When you make a shadow clone, you take your chakra and form it into physical matter. That's usually a copy of yourself or the appearance of someone you know. However, I've been in an untapped state linked to your sub-conscious. I'm still a clone, but I am also a separate consciousness than yours. When you unsummon me, you gain my knowledge and experience, but I retain my own personality." This was a revelation that Yuuki couldn't pretend to understand. _This is more than I bargained for already._

"So, the more I tapped into my potential, the closer I got to unlocking you in my own mind?" The clone nodded. "But what guarantee do I have that unsummoning you will not just add your conscience to mine?"

"That's a theory that will just have to come about. What helps is why my chakra pattern is different from yours." Yuuki noted the truth to her statement. It was very minor, but clearly evident. Before she could question the clone, it raised a hand. "My chakra is what is triggering yours to amplify. I'm essentially the offspring of the Kyuubi spliced with your father and mothers DNA. Although, I'm still trying to figure things out on my own." The clone put her hand on her head. "This is my second time out in the real world. I can't help but wonder, what would it have been like had I been born your twin? Is there anything I can do to stay in this world?" Yuuki pondered for a while, knowing this was not going to be easy to explain to everyone else. _I think I'm starting to believe her, and feel sorry for her._

"So, why wonder? Show me what you think you would look like." The clone stared for a minute before meditating on the answer. As if it were already pre-planned, the clone snapped back to. With a puff of smoke, the clone revealed herself. Her face held an acute resemblance to Yuuki's, but the nose was sharper. Her eyes held an orange glow with a subtle fox-like shape and her hair was shorter, scarlet red, and her hair was a little longer. The clone was about an inch taller as well, with a more lean body complimented by a more revealing outfit.

"Well?" The voice had changed as well, if only just slightly deeper than her own. "How does it look?"

Yuuki smiled as she looked over the new girl before her. _Wow, this is insane._ "I'm thinking it would be a little strange to call you a clone, or even by my name now. Let's see…What if I called you, Kitsumi?"

The girl thought for a moment and shook her head. "Nah, I think I'd prefer Tsumi instead. I don't like being so predictable." Yuuki nodded in agreement before returning to another matter.

"So, you know all of my moves then, right?" Tsumi nodded. "But, I have to ask: Did I even use any of my own chakra summoning you?" Tsumi's eyes glinted.

"No, actually. That seal that your brother put on you made it so my influences increased on your chakra pool. I've always been there with you, just as another chakra all together." Yuuki nodded her head. _I've got a hunch on how we can split up anyways, but that's all it is._ "But listen, you're running low on chakra right now, and I've got plenty left. Let me give you access to my chakra, if you'll allow it. What do you say? It can't hurt, given the possibility that I may mesh minds with you. Better to do it now before my conscience fully deviates from yours, no?" Yuuki straightened her face and Tsumi laughed.

"I look forward to working with you. I will think of something, I promise." Yuuki prepared to dispel the Tsumi.

"I know you will." With a burst of smoke, Tsumi disappeared and Yuuki felt a surge of chakra enter her body. Overwhelmed, she crouched to her knees.

"Woah, this is more than I bargained for!" Yuuki shook her head for a moment. She lifted her hand and gathered the chakra into a rasengan. It only took her a couple seconds to form it. "Thank you, Tsumi."

'No problem!' Yuuki jolted, hearing her voice in her head. _Tsumi? _'Yo, looks like I'm all set here. It seems like we've connected our consciousness. We'll talk later, heads up!' Yuuki swung around to find Isami clapping. Yuuki gave him a glare.

"No, seriously! You've gotten great at the rasengan already." He stopped for a moment, feeling something strange. He activated his byakugan and appeared more puzzled. "Your chakra is…different. And it's not even dented either. What happened?"

Yuuki sighed. "Let me give you a swift summary. The source of my chakra growth was caused by a section of chakra from the Kyuubi. However, it seems there's another personality, essentially my twin, controlling that section. Turns out there's another person in me, and she's actually been different from me all along. She just lent me some of her chakra."

Isami couldn't help but give her a crazy look. _That's a bit deeper than I doesn't appear to be lying either…_ "Are you trying to mess with me right now?" Yuuki rolled her eyes. Isami noted s subtle hue of orange in them. "Another person? How does that work?"

_Should we show him? _Yuuki waited through a pause before getting an answer. 'Yeah, I wouldn't mind actually meeting him face-to-face.' Yuuki smiled. "Alright, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to, Isami."

He watched as she formed a shadow clone, but it wasn't a clone of her at all. "Hey, I'm Tsumi." She noted his shocked face. Tsumi itched her cheek. "Yeah, I guess that is a bit sudden of a greeting."

"What the…" Isami noted as Yuuki's chakra was back to normal and this girl now held the chakra. Unable to think of anything to say, he just stared. Yuuki stood next to her new sister.

"Isami, this makes as much sense to you as much as it does to me. When I created a shadow clone, Tsumi appeared. At first she looked like me, but the longer she was outside of me, the more her personality grew different. She's the one who thought of forming the rasengan faster. However, I can still dispel her, and as long as she's in me, my chakra pool will keep expanding." Yuuki held her stomach. "I think your seal was disintegrated. That may explain why I felt my chakra burn."

Isami gathered his thoughts. "Well, it wasn't actually a seal. I put a seal on, yes, but it was to open you to all your chakra. Dad doesn't know though, so don't tell him." Yuuki and Tsumi looked at each other. Isami grinned. "I'm just glad you told me about her, like I asked you to."

Yuuki's face deadpanned. "So that's what you were talking about? You already knew?"

He chuckled. "I had my suspicions, but man I thought it was a long shot. I figured it was probably just an alternate personality in your head."

Tsumi looked back to him and frowned. "Is there a way I can become separate from Yuuki? I want to experience this world from my own perspective." Isami couldn't help but frown back.

"I honestly don't know. The fact that you're in front of me now is perplexing." Tsumi sighed, but Isami put his hands on her shoulders. "I know you'll find a way. If it's anything Yuuki's good at, it's innovation. For now…" He gave her a grin. "Welcome to the family, Tsumi!" Her face ran overwhelmed by excitement. Isami looked back to Yuuki with the same expression. "There's something you need to get back home for. Are you ready to go?"

Yuuki nodded her head. "I'm pretty hungry, so I hope you've got a fat wallet!" Isami laughed as he shook his head.

"I'm sure dinner will be great today. Oh, and I think Tsumi should stay out and meet everyone. Is that alright with you?" Before Yuuki answered, Tsumi responded.

"Yes, that's fine with me. But isn't it kind of strange to just pop in on everyone?"

Isami put his hands on their shoulders. "Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine…maybe. Our family is never good at first impressions anyways." _New sister, huh? This isn't fully confirmed, so let's see what the fox says._

OoOoOoOo

"WHAT?" Seeing their expressions as Isami explained the situation was borderline priceless. Naruto gave her a stern look over. Her features were fairly similar to Yuuki's, but undeniably different. "Hold on a minute. I need to consult with someone." _Hey, Kurama! The hell is this? _The fox snorted at the man's typical volume. 'Is it really a big issue? I was only experimenting a little. So what if I accidentally meshed my DNA with your's.' _Of course it's a big issue! I just found out I did, but didn't, have twins! It's been fourteen years since this one was formed. How am I going to deal with this? I can't just let her stay in Yuuki's conscience! It's not healthy or fair! _The fox continued to laze around. 'Well then, try to keep her out. I'm curious to see what my offspring is capable of.' He snickered heavily. 'I forgot I did that.' The fox chuckled a little louder. 'And you have had another being in you for thirty-eight years. It's not so bad!' They watched as Naruto narrowed his eyes. _What about my situation do you consider healthy? I have arguments in my head all the time! _The Kyuubi let out a yawn as he closed his eyes. 'Oh well.' Naruto became irked. _Damn you fox, this is why I hate talking to you now. All you ever do is sleep! Senile bastard_ It was clear the Kyuubi was already asleep. "Damn!" Naruto's eyes shot around as he heard himself curse out loud. Hinata gave him the look. "Ugh, sorry. The fox wasn't being very talkative. The story checks out though. This is our unborn daughter and Yuuki's twin sister. I guess…I don't even think science knows where the line is blurred on this matter." Shock swept over Hinata's face.

Tsumi looked at him in anxiety. "So, is it a bad idea for me to be running around?"

Hinata answered first. "No, don't be ridiculous! There's so much we need to catch up with. I assume you were able to figure out who we are, but we have no clue what you're like." Yuuki's stomach roared. "We'll talk over lunch of course." Just as they went to head for the dining room, a knock came on the door. Isami was quick to respond to it.

"Yo, Takeshi! Have you met Yuuki's twin sister?" His jaw dropped as Isami pulled him in. "I'll fill you in, just come in and eat."

OoOo

"Wow, what a bizarre situation." Takeshi responded casually, but noted Tsumi's appearance. She carried herself quite proudly, despite the nervousness she must have felt. Her red hair was brilliant to look at and her figure was-

"Alright, I'm going to change the subject for a minute before I get back to the office." He looked over Takeshi and Yuuki. "I've heard about you're A-ranked mission." Both of them sank a little, expecting a long winded lecture. "I want to let you know how well you two did. I can guarantee other nations will have their eye on you two after what you accomplished. I know I play the father role a lot, but know that you've proven just how strong the leaf remains. On top of that, your new friends have essentially baked the cake for their own nation, and after hearing about their struggles, I'm confident they'll put the icing on in the chunin exams. I see everything your team does, and I can't thank you enough for your dedication. It's not often I get to say that to a genin team." He reached in his cloak and pulled out a shocking amount of money. "This is the standard pay for an A-ranked mission, included bonuses for accepting duty outside your rank, rescuing hostages, and saving friendly ninja from the ensnarement of a nasty genjutsu. Not to mention you completed a C-ranked mission in the process." The two held the money with excitement, never imagining having so much in their hands. "Don't go blowing it all away, save it up now!" At this point in a young teen's life, there honestly isn't anything that can be said to make them listen. Naruto scoffed and murmured quietly, "Damn teenagers now-a-days." Naruto leaned over and gave Hinata a kiss. As he put on his cloak, he looked over Tsumi one more time. "I'd like it if you could swing by my office later. I promise I won't bore you to death."

Smile on face, Naruto casually departed and the group awkwardly sat in silence. Isami stretched his arms out wide and shifted his eyes towards Takeshi. "So, can I get a word with you and Yuuki really quick?" Takeshi was quick to rise to his feet, but Yuuki lackadaisically followed. As the group left, Hinata and Tsumi casually stared at their plates.

OoOoOoOo

"I've gotta go to the bathroom. Stay and chat." Isami walked off nonchalantly, leaving Yuuki upset.

"Hey, don't ask for a moment to talk and leave like that!" She clinched her fist in frustration as Takeshi rubbed his head.

After a moment, Takeshi broke the silence. "So, you have a twin, huh? Still hard to wrap my head around that." Yuuki laughed oddly. _She must not believe it herself._

"Yeah, I'm trying to be pretty cool-headed about this, but I'm having a lot of trouble worrying about it. Is it really ok to have another person living in your head?" Takeshi thought about it for a moment.

"I can see why you're concerned, but I'm sure someone will find a way to split you guys up. I mean, if it's her chakra, what if she just made the clone herself and maybe sealed the physical body she made…or something." Yuuki raised an eyebrow and considered the input. Takeshi rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, I'm just making things up. I'm not as good as you when it comes to thinking. In the meantime, would it help if we took a walk or something?" Yuuki blushed a little, almost forgetting that they were together. Takeshi laughed. "If it's too soon, don't worry about it. I'm sure you want catch up with her." Yuuki shook her hands back and forth.

"No, no! That would be a huge relief, actually. Let me go let my mom know."

OoOoOoOo

"So…are we going to say anything, or not?" Tsumi was fairly blunt which made Hinata blush in embarrassment.

"N-no, of course we can talk!" She thought for a moment before thinking up a solution. "So, how do you view yourself? You know, like happy, shy, or whatever you feel." Tsumi thought about it for a while. She never really thought about the ways she differed from Yuuki.

"Well, I'm more adventurous than Yuuki is." Hinata scanned over her outfit with a nod of agreement. "I'd say she's the more calm type in battle, whereas I'd prefer to be right in the fray." She gave another thought of consideration before shrugging her shoulders. "Other than that, I really can't say. Being the same person as her for fourteen years and only now being separate doesn't even give me a good idea of what we tend to do differently. Guess we'll find out as time goes on." Hinata seemed to agree with her logic.

"Don't worry, I'm sure someone will find a way to split you two for good. I want you to know that everyone is a little confused about you, but we're trying to soak in reality bit by bit." Tsumi sighed, causing Hinata to put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll make this simple. Do you feel like you belong in our family?" The girl looked up to her, unsure at first. Not long after, she grinned with a strong head bob. Hinata smiled kindly. "Then that's all that truly matters. Give it a few months and it will be as if you've always been here with us." Tsumi felt warmth grow inside her. She was astonished by it, realizing it had been her first direct experience with love. She also felt awkward, not knowing how to respond to the emotion. Hinata placed her hand behind Tsumi's head and pulled her in for a hug. "Don't be afraid to call me mom either."

Tsumi embraced it for a moment before pulling away quickly. "Geez, this is embarrassing me, _mom_!" This prompted Hinata to laugh lightly.

"Yup, you two are definitely twins in that sense."

The door swung open rapidly and startled them both. "Heyyy, I'm going to go for a walk with Takeshi. I'll be back after dinner, 'kay?" Hinata wasn't sure if she was going to be able to answer quickly enough before she took off.

"Just don't go anywhere you're not supposed to then. Remember, your father is more times than not somehow tracking you!" Yuuki gave her a swift wave off before turning to Tsumi.

"I promise we'll talk later if you want _little sister_." Tsumi narrowed her eyes, making Yuuki grin even wider. "Bye then!" Without another wasted movement, the two teens were out the door and gone. Hinata stared in confusion while Tsumi festered in anger.

"Tsumi, honey, would you happen to know what that was about?" Tsumi broke her trance with a foxy grin.

"Oh that? They started dating. But I'm sure she already told you, _right_?" Hinata's face slightly reddened as she couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's so sweet! I knew she could do it!" Hinata's cheerful demeanor dropped a little. "Oh dear…hopefully Naruto doesn't find out in some sort of sudden manner. It may be too soon in his mind." Both of them began imagining various scenarios that made for a slightly sobering silence. They casually shook it off, figuring it couldn't be too bad.

OoOoOoOo

"Do you understand, Noriko? I don't want you to blame yourself." Her head sank. The feeling in her gut as she heard the words straight from her father were a lot more painful than she could have prepared for. Sai exhaled, feeling a similar pain in his gut. "This is not a decision made lightly, Noriko. I tried my best to hold us together, but I couldn't stand and watch our family be torn to shreds." She felt her hands clinch.

"How is breaking it apart any better?" Sai struggled to find an answer, but could only turn his head away. Noriko stood up. "I knew we were falling apart, but she's still my mother. How can you just give up on her like that?" Sai swallowed the guilt in his throat and dipped his head.

"I know you're angry with me right now, but maybe you'll understand when you're older. She's not the same women I met fifteen years ago." Noriko turned away from her father with determination.

"Then I'll get stronger and fix the family myself." She prepared to leave.

Sai extended his hand as if to reach for her. "Noriko, I just don't want to see you get hurt anymore."

She looked back to her father with a somber smile. "I know. You've always been with me every step of my life. If you want to be here for me now, then support me."

Sai felt a chill run down his spine for a moment. "I'll do whatever I can to help you, but it will be sometime before you can speak to your mother. She moved out of the village a few days ago. She left us behind like we were nothing!"

Noriko walked to the door and paused. "That's good. It means she couldn't bring herself to see me. I'm not stopping until we come together again." Her tone wasn't quite as bright as he expected, but it wasn't quite sad either. It was more of an ambitious sound. Without another word, she closed the door.

Sai put his hands on his head and forced himself to not pull his hair out. "Of course that went bad. I don't know what else to say!" With a sigh, he relaxed himself. "I'm not sure if I like the way she handled that though. Maybe I'm just imaging things, but I felt a hint of coldness in her demeanor."

OoOoOoOo

"Where are we headed?" Takeshi and Yuuki casually walked off on the trail outside the training field.

He turned to her with a shrug. "Not even sure myself. I figured we could think about that later." She chuckled a little before getting closer to him. At that point, it was clear that he was a little sore.

"Were you training to?" He rubbed his head while letting out a laugh.

"Yeah, with my parents. They're actually quite ruthless!" Yuuki shook her head with a smile. Takeshi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on! It's not like you weren't out there training yourself! Your brother is getting pretty involved with your life recently."

She grinned at him. "Well, maybe a little. It is how I discovered Tsumi. It is getting pretty freaky how well Isami seems to know me." They shared another laugh.

"I'm surprised you aren't trying to spar with me right now. A few hours of training never did tire you out." Yuuki rolled her eyes.

"Well, I may have used a few shadow clones to speed the process…" Takeshi shoved her arm a little.

"Hey, that's not fair! You're going to make me work that much harder to keep up?" They sobered up a little.

"I don't want us to stop until everyone's safe." Yuuki looked up into the tree tops. "We have been gifted with amazing talents, so it's only natural we use them to protect everyone, right?"

Takeshi nodded in his head. "Not just us either. There's obviously something big coming, so I want to prepare and protect everyone: From everyone in the village hidden in the rivers, to the most insignificant things in Konoha. I'm glad you and I are on the same page." Clearly Takeshi had been considering this subject for a long time now.

"We don't have to do it alone, you know?" Despite the simplicity of the statement, it seemed to make Takeshi pause. "I'm sure the group we graduated with got stronger to."

Takeshi smiled. "Yeah, you're right. What were the teams again?" Takeshi searched his memory hard.

"Team 8, more than likely Shikamira has taken charge of that team. And don't forget Team 5. I'm quite sure Nagi has taken charge of that team by now." Takeshi smiled at the memories of the academy.

"No way! I'm sure Kobi is constantly trying to wrest control of that team. He and that damn germen shepherd are tough to put down." Yuuki laughed at Takeshi's quite defeated face.

"What about Team Seven, then? Who's heading your team by now, Uchiha Takeshi?" Both of them swung around to find Shikamira and Nagi standing behind them. They took a swift breath of relief.

"What are you two doing way out here?" Yuuki shifted her eyes between the two. Nagi rubbed his head and Shikamira crossed her arms.

"You know, I was just about to ask you the same thing, Yuuki! You two dating or something?" Nagi was doing his best to tease his cousin, but to his surprise, Takeshi put his arm around her.

"Actually, yes. Looks like you two aren't just coincidentally strolling this way either. I'm guessing something happened between you two after the academy?" Shikamira blushed heavily and Nagi jumped. With a hard punch, Shikamira threw her annoyance at Takeshi. A fraction of a second before impact, Takeshi tilted his head to the side and caught her fist. The group was taken back a little.

"You're lucky you've gotten better, Uchiha Takeshi." Shikamira withdrew her fist. "This is far from a date. Nagi has been begging me to spar with him for some time now. I'm simply about to put him in his place, that's all." She pointed into the clearing to reveal they had been near an old, run down training field. "This is where my team goes to train in seclusion. I expect it to stay that way; we don't need distractions and we don't take are positions light enough to have free time like you."

Nagi placed his hands on her shoulders. "Easy now, you're here to spar with me, right?" With a swift swat, Shikamira slapped his hands off. "There we go! You two can watch if you want. This will give you a chance to see how much better we've gotten in the last couple months."

Takeshi looked at Yuuki and shrugged. "Well, what do want to do?"

Yuuki rolled her eyes and nodded. "As long as it's a good fight. This should help me gauge just how much better I've gotten as well."

Nagi raised his eyebrow. "I can see you're quite confident in yourself." Nagi shifted his eyes back and forth between the two. "You know, both of you look quite confident now that I think about it. Do you mind answering the initial question more specifically now: Who's the strongest on your team, Yuuki?"

Takeshi eyed her, but she blew off the question completely. "She is…by far." Yuuki groaned at him and Takeshi grinned.

Shikamira stepped in now. "There's no way that can be accurate. You used to be the top dog, and on top of that, Noriko is on the team. How could Yuuki be the strongest of team seven?"

Yuuki pushed off the subject. "Well, I was going to say you're still equal to me in terms of intelligence, but I guess you've been slipping in that field. We don't honestly know who the strongest is." Shikamira laughed the comment off.

"I'm not so shallow a person to get upset over simple taunts. We'll see soon enough in the Chunin exams. Stand back and watch what I can do." She lightly shoved Yuuki aside and stepped into the clearing. Nagi shrugged and followed her slowly.

Takeshi climbed a nearby tree and extended his hand down to Yuuki. With a smile, she accepted it and was hoisted up the tree. The found a comfortable position and waited for the match to start. Yuuki stared down on them. "You really think they've gotten much better?"

He rested his hand by hers, just as curious. "Both their teams were nominated. Should be fun regardless, right?"

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure you can handle losing to me? The board is set, but you still have the right to walk away with some dignity. I used to wipe the floor with half the academy!" Shikamira pulled out a couple fans and took her stance. She bent low to the ground with one leg forward and straight. Pushing her left arm forward and raising her right arm to eye level, she opened the fans.

"Crouching tiger, huh? That's quite an interesting posture for fans." Shikamira smirked with confidence and never even blinked. Nagi stretched a little and composed himself into a stance similar to his fathers: knees bent for balance and both arms slightly bent and extended forward. With his byakugan activated, Nagi's demeanor became more serious. "Don't forget who you're talking to. I may have been humble in the academy, but we're genin now. I don't have to hold back anymore." The wind was the only audible noise now. They each awaited an assault from the other.

"ugh, they're just standing there. Nagi wasn't ever this serious when I was around." Yuuki squirmed back and forth, anticipating the first moves.

"You can tell, right? They know how equally matched they are right now." Takeshi pointed at Shikamira's eye twitching with a snicker. "What's up with that face?"

"Where?" Yuuki swung herself to see and fell off balance. Takeshi caught her before she could fall and her adrenaline rushed. Yuuki looked up to him with a smile. "Guess I'm still a bit of a klutz, huh?" The smell of lavender began to cloud his senses.

"Just try to be careful, okay?" Neither of them had noticed the start of the match.

_What the? _Nagi's eye's shifted towards Yuuki and Takeshi. _That can't possibly be my cousin, can it? _On top of her astonishing chakra pool, a thick aura of genjutsu seemed to be coating the area around them.

"There!" Shikamira had closed the gap and gathered a sweeping wind-chakra in her fan. _There's no way he can dodge at this speed. _Both Takeshi and Yuuki had snapped back to the battle with their eyes active just to keep up. As the move was released, Nagi seemed to vanish and suddenly reappear behind her. _Fast!_

"Clever move, if not a bit violent for a spar, no?" Between his fingers, he held a few shurikens that had been chucked at him. Shikamira pulled her other fan back and closed it with a smirk. "But that was the second distraction now, wasn't it?" Slowly, his body began moving itself to mirror hers.

"I didn't expect you to have a brain in there. And now I see you even have the speed to match, huh?" She crossed her arms with a smile as his body mimicked. "It's a shame for you that I'm always two steps ahead."

Nagi laughed himself. "Alright, I've seen all I need to, and I'd rather not be here all day. What do you say we call this a draw? I just wanted to see your skill first hand." Shikamira tilted her head, amused.

"No, did you see it Yuuki?" Takeshi couldn't believe the speed Nagi displayed.

"Notice what? Shikamira totally stomped him! It's over when you get caught in that jutsu." Yuuki crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Nice try! Not only do I keep my Kunai on my left side, but I have my chakra fan." After a brief moment of thought, she had a revelation: Her chakra fan wasn't in her hand. She reached for a kunai and also found that it was mysteriously on her right side. _Did he really go that fast?_ Yuuki just about fell out of the tree again. "That's impossible!"

Nagi just continued smiling. "Impossible? no. Difficult? yes!" She was numbed by the boy she now didn't even recognize anymore. "You want to take me up on the draw offer before you run out of chakra?" Shikamira had no choice at this point. Despite her knowledge of the battlefield area, it was all useless. She shook his hand and looked away, releasing the shadow hold.

"Why didn't you show your real skill before?" She awaited a response, but instead, Nagi just began a casual walk.

Placing his hand on her shoulder as he past, he responded, "You're smart, figure it out." His words made her blush as well as frustrated. Yuuki was supposed to be the only person capable of keeping up with her strategies. Nagi waved over to Yuuki and Takeshi. "Sorry if that was too boring for you two! It was a draw!" He observed Yuuki once more. _It really is her chakra…but the genjutsu seems to have vanished. How long has it been since we last saw her? Was she holding back in the academy days to? No, It's impossible to have hidden that chakra from my byakugan. That can only mean she's become that powerful in two months. Ridiculous…_

OoOoOoOo

That night had come to a close and the group had stopped for ramen on the way home. Shikamira seemed a little insistent on Nagi owing her for wasting her afternoon. Takeshi and Yuuki had just begun to briefly update them on the team's progress. They seemed to already have a hundred stories to tell, and everyone gave a story of their own.

"I must say, you have us beat. Our mission only involved a couple of bandits. Shikamira's team didn't get any action, either." She seemed to blow him off.

"So, let me get this right…" Shikamira pointed to Takeshi. "You defeated like five people, and…" Shikamira pointed to Yuuki. "You defeated twenty-one?" _I haven't even seen her fight seriously before. What is she doing to achieve this much in such a short window of time?_ "That's gotta be a load of…" Behind Yuuki was a clock that showed her a time she couldn't believe. "Bull shit, it's 2300. I've got to get home!" Shikamira grabbed Nagi and pulled him out.

"Why am I being dragged out to?" He barely paid their tab before he was forced out.

"Because you owe it to me to make it home safely, that's why! This is your fault after all." Ayame waved with a confused look as she accepted the money.

Takeshi got up and paid the bill. "Come on, we should be getting back ourselves." Yuuki looked down. Takeshi gave her a smirk as he grabbed her hands. With a quick lift, he said, "Don't worry; I've got a spot I want to show you first."

OoOoOoOo

Naruto had taken a break from the mound of paper work involved in Chunin exams. He rested on top of the third Hokage's monument and meditated in half peace. The Kyuubi had been ranting on about some random memories centuries before Naruto's time and he'd become too tired to even tell him to shut up. Suddenly, the fox quieted. _Finally done? _'Ain't that your pup over there?' Naruto's eyes shot open as he saw Takeshi bringing her on top of the statue of his own head.

OoOoOoOo

"Alright, check it out!" Yuuki opened her eyes and saw the beautiful starry night lighting the quiet village they lived in. For a moment all she could do was gasp. Takeshi put his arm around her and stared himself. "Whenever I've got a lot on my mind, this is where I come. It's easy to lose sight of things when its right in your face, but when you take a step back…"

"You appreciate what you'd been taking for granted, right?" Again, the smell of lavender began to fill the air. Takeshi took a step away from her to face her now. She turned to him with warm eyes as took a picture with his hands.

"Not the same after all. I can't smell the lavender." She brushed off the lavender comment, not wanting to know what he was talking about. "I've actually been curious about-!"

"Just shut up and kiss me already!" They glued together with smiles ear-to-ear. After a brief moment, a loud scraping noise followed by a series of smacking sounds rolled down the summit. Takeshi broke off for a moment.

"Did you hear something?" Yuuki covered his mouth and grinned.

"Don't worry, it's nothing important." They shrugged it off and returned to their escape.

(At the base of the monument)

'Naruto, snap out of it! I don't care if you want to die, but I refuse to go in such a pathetic way!' Naruto still twitched with his eyes and jaw wide open in shock. _My daughter…Takeshi…on my own head? _It would take well into the night for the Hokage to recover from such a fatal blow.

(Author's note)

Yes, this is a long chapter for a good reason. If you read it fully through, thank you. Seriously, this is not a chapter you want to miss. I would like to remind you that I write this from a young girls perspective because 1) The series is incredibly lacking in it and 2) It's the hardest challenge for me to write the perspective of. (I'm a 21-Year old guy in the NAVY) If you're itching for action, don't worry! We're getting to some serious moments soon. I also you don't read through too quickly, as I like to put several one word clues and details that may help you predict future events. It may take about a week or so for the next chapter. Flying around again…Give me a review to give me an idea of what you think!


	14. Prepare

**-A/N-**

**Sorry, I've been doing research a lot. I recently posted a new fic, so I can excitedly say I'm not keeping myself to one story now. Don't expect me to slack as I've been doing though! This story is still my baby lol.**

**Chapter 14: Prepare**

"Yuuki, Tsumi! Rise and shi-" Hinata opened the door to a room filled with sleeping clones. She raised her hand to her forehead. "Again?" Hinata woke the clones up and let them disperse. "I'm glad this is over today. They've been working too hard." The mother looked out the window and to the sky.

OoOoOoOo

"Morning already?" Tsumi halted her training and looked up through the trees. The air was still humid, but cool morning breezes had reminded them that summer was at a close and autumn was rolling in. Tsumi turned to where Yuuki would be. "Guess I'll go get her. She's probably sparring or something."

As she made her way to Yuuki, the echoes of water jutsus and hissing of wind jutsus began to crescendo. Tsumi smirked as she neared her sister. _Alright, let's see how hard she's really been working._

OoOoOoOo

She pushed herself to become faster than them; the last remaining clone attempted another wind blast, making Yuuki chuckle. She swiftly dodged the move and swept in close to the clone. Without warning, they were engaged in a rapid trade of gentle fist. The speed was one thing, but the precision was what made it a spectacle. As a swift jab from Yuuki approached, the clone instinctively performed a heavenly spin. At the very last second, Yuuki rolled into a heavenly spin to counter the clones counter. A massive, grinding pressure overcame the two as they pushed harder and harder against each other. Finally, they were both blasted away.

The clone was slammed into a tree and released. As Yuuki neared the tree herself, Tsumi caught her out of nowhere. "Good lord, are you trying to knock yourself crazy? How much is too much?" Yuuki regained her feet and rubbed her head with a laugh.

"So I guess that means its morning, huh?" Tsumi shoved her away with a smirk.

"Don't act like you don't know what today is! It's about time we get some breakfast and meet up with the group."

Yuuki smiled and nodded. "I hope he's kept his promise then. We aren't just getting stronger for the tournament you know." Tsumi returned a grin as they made their way home.

OoOoOoOo

"Hurry up and get going!" Hinata was surprisingly excited for both the girls. The atmosphere was upbeat despite the amount of times they made her worry. They were ninja, afterall. Tsumi barely managed to finish on par with Yuuki as they rose up.

"Thanks mom! Hey, do you mind if we gather the teams going to the exams here tonight?"

Hinata nodded her head. "Well, your father and I will be out tonight, so be sure you keep the place clean. I don't have a problem with it."

Yuuki pumped her fist with excitement. "We're running behind as it is, so I'll catch you later." Yuuki left quickly, leaving Tsumi in the room. After a brief stare, she grinned wide.

"I'll be back when I feel like it. Later!" Hinata gasped as she left and extended her hand out.

"Why does she insist on pushing the rules?" With a sigh, Hinata brightened up again. "She's definitely wilder than Yuuki. Must be some of the fox in her." Hinata sipped some tea and let the silence enter the house once more. She let out a sigh. "Alone again…"

OoOoOoOo

"Takeshi, I expect you to home at a decent hour now!" Sakura rose to give him a look over, but he just waved her off and headed for the door quickly.

"Yeah, don't worry so much! I'll be back right after we're done today. Yuuki wants all the teams to come to her house for a meeting later, so it'll be then." Sakura's jaw dropped as he made an escape. Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder.

"He was bound to reach this age eventually." This prompted her to take a swing at him, which was quite pointless.

"Don't you lecture me! He's still my baby." Sasuke put both his hands on her now to relax her.

"Hey, cool it will you? I never said that had to change, just give him a little more breathing room, right?" For once, she eased herself and sighed. "They grow up too quick for me to. We just have to adapt to it."

Sakura smiled tenderly. "Imagine you, going soft on everyone." He withdrew his hands and turned away, trying to play cool.

"I'll just have to schedule harder training for him then. I won't have him fall behind after these exams."

OoOoOoOo

The couple met in the middle of the street with a hug. Tsumi reddened with an annoyed face. "Really, we have time for this? It's not like you two were apart for more than a week." Yuuki stared daggers at her as Takeshi laughed.

"Ah, you're right. We'll be late at this rate." Takeshi smiled and looked towards the training field. "I hope Noriko hasn't been slacking off." Yuuki felt a subtle pain in her chest at hearing the name. She only hoped Noriko had been coping well with the divorce. Takeshi had been none the wiser to the situation.

The group departed down the street and onto the routine trail. It was to their surprise to find Konohamaru already standing by. He greeted them by flicking his cigarette away and smiling. "Yo, if it isn't the love birds and the fox!" The couple rolled their eyes as Tsumi grinned at the compliment. Konohamaru glanced behind them and then to the sides. "I expected you guys to show up promptly on time, but Noriko is late? Now I've seen it all." His eyes shifted to the trees and saw a blur fall in with the group. "Never mind then."

They looked over Noriko, seeing the typical expressionless face. This time, however, there was a slightly cooler atmosphere about her. Konohamaru masked his worry on the inside. "My apologies for being late, sensei. I was a little preoccupied, but I am here none-the-less."

His face deadpanned by the lack of guilt shown in her words. "Alright, so it's been seven weeks since we've returned, and for the most part, I haven't been asked for help. I gotta say, it's more boring than I expected. Due to the caliber of those you've chosen to train with, I have no doubt you've all made a decent chunk of progress. Just remember I'll always be here to offer you advice. Now our goal is to mesh it all together. So, let's see what you've all learned and work from there." Tsumi looked to the ground in boredom. "Tsumi, right now you're acting as an additional member of our team, so I'd like you to participate as well. According to the revised documents, you're listed as always being a part of our team." She couldn't hold back a smile as the team held accepting faces. "Not sure how everyone else will handle it, but oh well. Shit happens." Konohamaru focused back on the subject at hand and the group began pooling together techniques.

OoOoOoOo

As if the list hadn't been impressive enough, the teamwork between everyone had become fairly good after a few short hours. Konohamaru raised his hand in the air. "Alright, that's enough for today. You've all surpassed everything I'd hope you would achieve, so our sessions are going to be like this from here on." Everyone stopped with confusion. None of them had even broken a sweat and now they were done already. He brushed his hand through his hair. "Hey, there's only a week until the exam. I need you guys well rested." He took one more look over the skeptical group and smiled. "Don't think I'm going easy on you! Hit the books, I'm sure there's going to be some rough times during the exam. Just be thankful you guys don't have to do it like we did."

"What's it going to be like then? I heard they're modifying the regime due to the amount of teams available." Yuuki had clearly been harassing her father again.

Konohamaru crossed his arms and put on a straight face. "Just so you don't get mixed information, I'll tell you the basics. Firstly is a new test that actually counts accumulatively towards advancing. I think it's about fifty questions. Then you'll be working in your teams against other teams. Finally, the tournament that everyone is looking forward to." He scratched his chin. "I guess it's not too different, just a new test. I want you to realize that your team is skilled and works well together. Which brings me back to my point; Study! I have no question that this team is hands down the best in combat, so just be sure you don't mess it up in the test portion. Understood?"

They all nodded their heads and were dismissed. Takeshi walked over to Yuuki. "Hey, I need to get back and study. My mom is planning on helping me with the knowledge part. I'm sure you're welcome to join if you want." Yuuki looked over to Noriko. She was staring at her and gave her a signal to follow when she looked. She looked back to Takeshi. "Sorry, I might catch up with you, but I've got to take care of something first. Maybe Tsumi can join you?" Yuuki and Takeshi shifted eyes to her sister.

Tsumi shifted her eyes between them and sighed. "Alright, I guess I can. It's about time I started getting out more anyways, since half your group is oblivious to me." Yuuki looked up as if she'd just noticed that. All this time they were just concerned with training.

"Alright, see you two later then. Don't have too much fun now." Tsumi rolled her eyes as they departed back to the house. Noriko began walking into a more secluded area and Yuuki was swift to follow.

"Let me cut to the chase; I've been busy and sleep hasn't come as easy as it used to." She pulled out a scroll and planted her hand on it. Yuuki waited for the smoke to clear. As she unsheathed it, Noriko showed a sword in fairly good condition. She smirked at Yuuki's confused expression. "Don't get excited. This is your average sword." She tossed it to Yuuki. "I don't expect you to reach my level, but I won't accept you as my leader with mediocre swordsmanship."

Yuuki pulled out the sword and felt it in her hands. She welcomed the challenge. "Can't say I expected you to go this far to accept me, but if you insist…" Yuuki activated her byakugan and held a stance. "I can't say no." Noriko actually let out a laugh.

"Isami told me you were interested. I know you're holding back quite a few trump cards, but that's fine." Yuuki jolted a bit. _She knows? _"Two new water jutsus and three new wind jutsus? If that's all you're showing us, you've got a heck of a lot of trump cards, huh? Regardless, you've got seven days, so don't expect me to go easy on you." Noriko's face deadpanned. "First step is that atrocious stance." Yuuki's face mimicked. It seemed likely this was going to take a long time.

OoOoOoOo

"So, you've gotten a lot stronger." Tsumi struck up a conversation with Takeshi that made him blush a little.

"You think so? I was hoping I could show Yuuki just how much tougher I'd become, but we only had that small window." He almost seemed disappointed. "She didn't really seem too impressed by it either."

Tsumi frowned a little and continued on. "I know she saw it, and I know she was impressed. She's just not always the best at compliments." Takeshi raised an eyebrow at her.

"I guess so. I'm sure she knows that I was holding back a lot of my training." Takeshi crossed his arms behind his head.

"Well, obviously. You're chakra has increased a lot, so you've probably got a couple of jutsus up your sleeve." He scrunched his face and exhaled sharply. _Damn._

"You were pretty much the same person as her, right? What makes you think you're any better at compliments?" _Let's change the subject before she steals all my thunder._ She looked over at him with a smirk.

"That's because I'm not her. It doesn't take rocket science to see those muscles either, you know?" She reached over and squeezed his arm, making him pull away slightly. She felt a hint of shock at how much bigger and dense they'd actually gotten. "Woah, that's as hard as concrete! How are you able to move so much faster to?" Her eyes drifted to his legs. "hmm…" She knelt down and got an even closer look at his calves, poking them. They were a little thinner even, but they had the same concrete feel to them. Takeshi backed away, feeling awkward.

"Hey now, you don't have to give me an examination here!" She rose to her feet and chuckled at him.

"Are you offering?" She raised her hand and started a grabbing motion that made him turn redder than her hair. This made her laugh louder. "I'm just toying with you! Come on, let's get back already!" She turned around and trotted away as if she'd done nothing weird.

Takeshi took a minute to shake off his thoughts. "Oh man, that was unexpected. She's a lot more…open than Yuuki." He felt his heart relax again and ran to catch up. "I'm sure that was perfectly innocent though."

As they arrived, Takeshi opened the door to find it emptied out. He searched around for a while before finding a note on the counter.

'Takeshi, if you're back before us, we had a meeting to go to that your _excellent father _failed to tell me about yet again. Communication hasn't been his strong suit in life. We'll be back as soon as possible, but there's food in the fridge just in case. Don't get any ideas with your girlfriend while we're gone, young man!'

Takeshi scoffed at the letter. _As if…_ "Well this was a bust. Looks like there was a meeting the adults had to go to. You still want to study?" He looked back to notice she was looking over the furniture. Takeshi crept behind her to get a view of what she was doing.

"Oh, there it is. I remember when Yuuki spilt her food on the carpet here. I can't believe the stain is still there." Takeshi tried to recall the event to no avail. Tsumi scoffed and face palmed his head. "You know, the day my family came over to your house to celebrate Hitomi and Isami becoming genin?" His memory jogged and found itself rehashing the day.

-Flashback-

"Why does he have to come over though? Can't they just leave him behind? It is bad enough he lives across the street! Watch me get put in the same team as that clown to." Hitomi crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

Sasuke tried his best to calm her down. "I don't want any complaints! It's no worse than being stuck in the same team as Naruto back in the day. Despite my severe distaste for him, we eventually became great friends." Hitomi rolled her eyes at her father's typical lecture nature. "We even got apartments downtown after the war, and I must admit, a lot of memories were born there." He looked over to Sakura, who was smiling at him the whole time.

"Ah, those were the days. So many good times in those apartments. I remember-" Hitomi slammed her hands on the table.

"We don't need flashbacks inside of flashbacks!" Everyone turned a confused look at her as she pulled away. "He better not try anything stupid."

Sakura snorted. "You're louder than normal today. I'm sure you'll move out sometime and get an apartment with him and your old teammates. Then who'll be laughing? Me!" Sakura drank more sake and leaned back. "Wake me up when they get here…" As if by command, a tapping came on the door. She rolled her head over and scoffed. "Takeshi, can you get that?"

The young boy obediently ran up and began to open the door. Suddenly, a hand holding a bottle of Sake was thrust through the opening. "Sake bombs!" The booming voice and matching hand gesture made Takeshi fall flat on his back. Hinata smacked Naruto upside the head.

"I told you it wouldn't be Sasuke answering the door! I'm surprised his sharingan didn't activate." Naruto apologized to the young boy and greeted his old friends. After Hinata tended to Takeshi, she was quick to join in on the conversation.

"Yo, little man! You been working on tossing kunai?" Takeshi looked up to see Isami smirking at him. With a smile, Takeshi nodded. Isami laughed and roughed Takeshi's hair. "That's what I'm talking about: Next big ninja in town, right here!"

Hitomi couldn't help but smile at how well he treated her brother. As she approached them, Isami 'lost balance' and planted his face on her chest. She screamed and smashed his face into the ground and stepped on his head. "If you ever pull anything like that again, I'll break your ribs with this fist!" As she released him, he squirmed away and rose to his feet with a laugh. "You're lucky there are witnesses around, Isami!"

"Why're you on the ground?" Takeshi looked up to see Yuuki offering her hand to help him up. "Need help?"

Takeshi scoffed as he rose to his feet on his own accord. "As if…I don't need assistance from a girl." Yuuki puffed her cheeks and walked past him.

"Well, I wasn't the one on the floor, so it's not like you had any pride to swallow anyways." His eyes narrowed.

It didn't take long for the women to get the food together and the men to get the booze diminished. Although the noise level began to rise uncomfortably, the smell made it quite enjoyable for everyone. Takeshi nudged his sister at this point.

"Hey, it actually smells good. How much you want to bet that's not mom's cooking?" Hitomi snickered at the comment.

"That's right, you probably wouldn't remember. Anytime Isami's mother comes over, we get good food. Although, it surprisingly isn't all her; mom seems to cook very well when she's been drinking. Weird, huh?" Takeshi nodded firmly as the men lined up more shots.

OoOo

"I'm telling you, I can throw a kunai better than you can!" The men had gotten to the ripe stage of friendly competition. The women casually persuaded them outside and gave them an audience.

"Hitomi, Isami, please watch the kids. We don't want these two getting too much attention out here. Besides, it's likely going to be pretty dangerous." The glass door slid shut and the group sat in an awkward silence. Finally, Isami was first to speak.

"Hitomi, can we have a quick talk?" She raised her eyebrow in suspicion, but his face seemed quite serious in comparison to normal.

She sighed and glared at him. "Remember what I said earlier." She pointed to Takeshi. "Don't get in trouble, alright?" He gave her an obedient head nod.

The two fresh genin left the room and Takeshi was alone. Yuuki was too preoccupied with watching the adults that she hadn't even taken notice of anyone being gone. _I'd rather spend my time with Isami._ He was quick to round the corner and climb the stairs to his sister's room. Takeshi placed his ear on the door.

OoOo

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just such a peculiar relationship, that's all." Hitomi rubbed her arm and looked away from Isami. He sat next to her on the bed and looked up.

"Yeah, sorry about getting mad over that. I don't know, part of me wishes we didn't have to sell this farce so well. Is it really that bad if we just came forward about it?" She glared at him and smiled.

"What, so you could continue being a pervert without consequences? I don't think so! You're the kind of guy I need to fix." Hitomi leaned back a little.

"Yeah?" Isami propped himself on his elbow and stared into her eyes. "And you're the kind of girl I'm going to break." Hitomi blushed faintly and chuckled. She leaned in on him and drifted close to his face. _Oh man, is she coming in for a kiss? _Isami's eyes shut on their own and prayed for a taste. Instead, he felt a flick to the forehead.

"You're going to break anyone with that kind of weak attitude!" She pulled an eyelid down and stuck her tongue out. Isami rubbed his head and laughed. She couldn't help but join in on the laughter. After they quieted, stood up and turned to him. "Who knows, maybe things will be fine just the way it is now. But I warn you, pull a stunt like you just did in public and I will break your ribs."

Isami jumped up and walked to the door. "That just means I'll have to try again in a few years."

OoOo

_Oh crap, they're headed for the door. _Takeshi bolted down the stairs and rounded the corner to get into the living room. "Safe!" As he turned his head, he couldn't stop himself in time after seeing Yuuki eating curry. "Crap!" They collided, sending the curry straight to the floor. Takeshi landed on top of Yuuki, but he managed to catch himself over her. Her eyes were still wide from the shock.

"You kids still being good?" Hitomi turned the corner and shrieked.

"What now?" Isami turned the corner now. What he saw made his eyes twitch. "Guess kids start early now-a-days." Hitomi smacked his face straight to the floor and stepped on it.

"See what you're teaching them? You're the dirtiest trash on the planet!" Takeshi looked at Yuuki and shrugged.

"Sorry about that. I didn't expect you to be there." He rolled off of her and helped her up. She walked over to the curry and crouched next to it.

"You should be apologizing to the curry. It didn't deserve such a terrible fate." She prodded it a couple times and his jaw dropped. _This girl really likes food, doesn't she?_

"Oh crap!" Hitomi pointed at the trash under her feet. "You! Get some paper towels, and I'll get the floor cleaner!" As if curry spilt like this every day, they both had it picked up and faded in one minute flat.

Isami looked up to her. "Was I supposed to do the circle pattern, or the dabbing pattern?" Hitomi covered her eyes in hopes for the best. _I know he didn't do the circle pattern. _

Slowly, she peeked through her fingers and instantly went to her knees. "Dabbing, you idiot…Dabbing." No matter how much cleaner they put on it, the mess refused to go away. Once she decided it was faded enough, she slid the couch over it. "Alright, we're going to pretend like absolutely nothing happened in the last twenty minutes. If they ask what we have been doing, we say 'nothing at all', okay?" They all nodded in agreement.

The door began to slide open and the group quickly sat on the couch. Sakura narrowed an eye at the strangely motionless kids. "So, what have you four been doing?"

"Nothing at all." Hitomi face palmed as Takeshi, Isami, and Yuuki all said the verbatim excuse in unison. Even through a drunk eye, her mother became suspicious.

"Oh really? It sounds like you're hiding something to me!" Before she could jump to any conclusions, Isami piped up.

"Actually, that's what we've been doing: Practicing communication in unison. I think it's a good way to build teamwork and understanding between others. Teach 'em while their young, right?" Hitomi immediately nodded in agreement. _Nice recovery, Isami._

"Oh, well…not bad then. Looks like you know how to train well even without animation." She bought it with a smile before flaring her nostrils. "Doesn't it smell cleaner in here?"

"Not at all." The chorus answered at once and made Sakura uneasy.

"Now that's just freaking me out…"

-End Flashback-

Takeshi laughed at the memory. "Wow, I completely forgot about that." _When I think back on it, it seemed like Hitomi and Isami were…_

"Yeah, and I guess your mom never found it either, huh?" They shared another laugh.

"You know, now that I remember it, why was Yuuki on the other side of the corner?"

Tsumi snickered. "She was spying on you, who were spying on your sister. She just got a little hungry to." Takeshi shook his head at the irony. Finally he sat down next to Tsumi, arms crossed behind his head.

"What else can you remember? It's actually pretty fun rehashing the old times." She leaned back and pondered. "Hey wait, I got one!" Takeshi leaned up and told the story, and soon after Tsumi would tell him another. Before they knew it, they were trading memory after memory of each other.

OoOoOoOo

Not before long, the council and Naruto had gathered in the usual spot. However, this time there was no alcohol involved. Even Lee had managed to control himself and attend. This time, Shin, Isami, and Konohamaru attended as well.

Naruto rose and everyone silenced. "Alright, we need to come to a decision on Hell's Phoenix. I'm sure you've all gotten the information together, so let's hear what you've got to say."

Shin was first to go. "There's more to this group than what's let on. If he was able to get to me, then he may have already gotten to several nations. However, the fact that the only known existence of this group was near our village, it's appears likely they have the most influence in the land of rivers." He seated himself and everyone politely acknowledged the input. Next, Konohamaru stood.

"This is, however, an assumption. Seven years ago, Shin was forced to attack his old village. The result was a crushing defeat and withdrawal of the enemy, Biton inclusive. What seems more likely at this point was the demotion of Biton. Forced to maintaining the group he gathered and awaiting the order to strike once more." Next Isami rose and submitted his input.

"As far as Biton goes, his chakra seemed very sporadic. It was as if he was still struggling to control his power, and he himself was in denial of his failure. He was easily riled up and quick to state his 'prominent position' in Hell's Phoenix. I have eliminated all traces of his genjutsu and sealed his chakra for good. This, no doubt, has been the first counter-blow to Hell's Phoenix." As Isami sat down, an upbeat chatter began running around the table. Kakashi gave him an approving nod that made him feel like he actually belonged at these dull meetings.

"Alright, alright…" Shikamaru stood up and put his hands in his pockets. "It can only be the death god's luck that we ran into Hell's Phoenix after our secret mission discovery. Konohamaru and Isami were sent to the abandon Akatsuki mansion and found some sensitive documentation. It would appear Guden's brother was quite the scholar, and didn't seem to like his brother knowing everything about him." Shikamaru pulled out a small book and threw it on the table. "Regardless of whether or not Guden knew about it, Kuden wasn't working alone. This book tells me he was acting under a role similar to mine: Gathering information, heading research, and formulating strategies. In order for Hell's Phoenix to still be around today, there has to be a steady flow of resources. It's likely that when Kuden died, the brunt of the forces were pulled back. According to these findings, there was someone acting above them." He pulled out a letter and cleared his throat.

_"The One for Wisdom,_

_ You have done well. Understand that it is necessary to keep your brother in the dark until you have finished the experiment. I've heard a few patients have become unstable, but potent. If you want to keep us concealed, you had better think of a fail-safe in the event of detection. While you may prove to be the smartest influence of the east, you are not the only One. You can expect my support, and I expect your results._

_Burn after reading,_

_ -The One for All"_

"I'd like to annotate that when he brings up eastern influences, he capitalizes 'One'." The group was quiet. After all the years, Hell's Phoenix had only just now surfaced. Now, the threat they thought they knew had become insignificant. "Aside from this book and letter, that is all Kuden has slipped on. In this book are scribbles of strategies and war plans up until he was killed. Some of these have come to light, and some have yet to happen. I will keep working to research events after his death to see if any of this was finalized. We'll be working with cypher corps to reveal as much information as possible." All eyes were focused on the book that lay on the table. What secrets of the enemy did it contain? Shikamaru rubbed his head. "One more thing to add: if 'One for All' is the leader, and Guden knows about Hell's Phoenix, that means Kuden's experiments were successful. However, that means Guden has someone to answer to. If he has stepped out of line, we will not see him for a while."

Isami was quick to jolt up. "Now that you mention it, Zente told me Biton said he was one for deception. I think that means he was 'The One for Deception'!" Even Naruto stood straight up in his seat and gripped the hand grips.

"It this is true, we can't rule him out of the picture completely. These guys have earned their titles. We need to be in direct contact with The Village Hidden in the Rivers now: Not only are they the closest to the suspected enemy location, but they have assisted us in taking out two of these One people." As Naruto finished his solution, not a single person disagreed. "Alright, do we have any reconnaissance updates? Scents, suspicious trails, genjutsu barriers?" Neji, Kakashi, and Kiba shook their heads no. Naruto put his hand down firmly. "Alright, get your best men on it. I'm going to let the Chunin exams happen, but I expect Neji and Kiba to be out there helping in the search afterwards. We need to prepare all of our ninjas for the future. Shikamaru and Temari, please give some intel training. We're going to need sharp minds. Lee, I want you to challenge as many skilled Taijutsu ninja you can to train harder. Ten-Ten, work with tools, show 'em something they've never seen before. Kakashi, I need you to handle ANBU. Sasuke, I'm sure you can take care of ninjutsu. I'll even have Kurena come back to teaching genjutsu. I want to get our entire ninja community involved without them being panicked. Think of competitions, lectures, races, anything to get them engaged in attending the sessions. If you think you can add something that you find beneficial to the cause, swing it by me and I'll approve it. Questions?" The group felt the surge of energy and urgency in the air and uniformly nodded in agreement. "I'll handle speaking to the other nations." _They won't like the sound of this, but it's not war…yet._

OoOoOoOo

A knock came over the door that made Takeshi jolt awake. He looked down to notice Tsumi passed out on his chest. _Oh man, I can't believe myself right now… _The knocking came louder now and woke Tsumi up to. Takeshi jumped up. "Hold on, damn it! I hear you!" He answered the door and evaded a swift series of jabs.

"Yup, he's still got it! What's up, bro?" The young man smirked at him as he laid his hand back. Takeshi smiled and completed the handshake.

"What's good, Kobi? It's been too long, huh?" Only now did he realize it was dark out. "Oh man, is it time for the meeting already?" Before Kobi could answer, his dog barked into a subtle growl. Takeshi looked down. "What's wrong, Ripper?"

Tsumi came walking up, yawning and stretching. Kobi's eyes widened at the stunning beauty he saw before him. "What's all that noise about?"

Kobi placed a hand on the back of Takeshi's and brought him into a huddle. "Takeshi, who is this girl?"

"Her name is Tsumi."

"Why is she yawning and you were just waking up?"

"We fell asleep."

Kobi festered for a minute in thought. "So, you slept with a girl while your parents were out? How far did you get?"

Takeshi reddened and flicked him in the nose. "Enough! She's just a friend. I'm sure Yuuki will explain who she is. Let's get going."

Kobi bolted passed him and grabbed her hand. She was overcome with confusion. "Tsumi, was it? My name is Kobi, and I just wanted to let you know I'm single." Ripper tilted his head.

Tsumi pulled her hand away and looked him over. "Strike one." Kobi planted his face to the floor in rejection. Tsumi walked by him and put her hands on Takeshi with a laugh. "I can feel your weakness from here. You better man up if you want to talk to me." Takeshi pulled away and pocketed his hands. Kobi gritted his teeth at him. _Damn you, Takeshi!_

"Very funny, time to get moving." Takeshi greeted Nagi and Shitto and ventured towards the house. Tsumi looked down to the dog and saw it giving her a funny look.

"Well, at least Ripper here looks strong. Don't you?" She began petting him and rubbing his ears. He panted excitingly and licked her. "Good boy! Let's go see what the meeting is about, kay?" Tsumi ran off and Ripper turned his head back to Kobi.

"Don't give me that, traitor!" Ripper bowed his head as if to apologize. Kobi stood up and rubbed his head. "She kind of looks like Yuuki, doesn't she? Why is she coming to the meeting?"

Takeshi arrived to the groups standing outside. "So, where is Yuuki? And Noriko for that matter?" Shitto was quick to get to business. Nagi pointed down the road.

"That'd be them. Things really have changed if those two are friends." Nagi pondered on his cousin. _Her chakra hasn't exploded again, but it's definitely bigger than before. I hope she explains that. _His eyes caught something and he turned to Tsumi. _Her chakra is just as massive! What's going on here?_

"Staring at the new girl already? You pig." Nagi jumped, hearing Shikamira's voice.

"That's just the way boys are. Can't keep their eyes to themselves." A pair of twins approached, though it was difficult to tell off appearance. Her brother was much…wider than she was.

"Cut him some slack Inora. It's not our fault kunoichi in this village dress so provocatively." She glared at him.

"Chojiko, there are no excuses for the amount of perverts in this village. Especially with a track record like yours." He chuckled to himself and rubbed his head.

"Yo! Sorry we were behind. We got a little side tracked. Come on in!" At this point, everyone's eyes shifted between Yuuki and Tsumi. She let out a sigh. Suddenly a loud noise crashed near them that made everyone stare.

"Made it! Hurry up you fools!" Datsu pointed Takeshi's direction, making him point to himself, clueless. Datsu moved his hand in a tight circle pattern. "Are you a plural fool? No, no, no, Them!" Akano and Kaito stood just behind Takeshi, both of them ignoring Datsu. The rookies sweat dropped at the foreign ninja.

Yuuki smacked Datsu upside the head and opened the door. "I'll explain both of these inside."

As they ventured indoors, Yuuki organized the living room into a makeshift conference room. All the teams sat down and waited for Yuuki to finish sliding a small dresser to create a podium. She signaled Tsumi to come up front. "Alright, first order of business: meet my twin sister, Tsumi." As everyone's jaws dropped to the floor, Yuuki laughed. "Before you ask unneeded questions, I'll explain. My dad has the nine-tails sealed within him, and when I was conceived, the fox manipulated his own DNA into my mother's and father's. This didn't create twins, but Tsumi's conscious and chakra were sealed inside of me. So, over the past four-teen years, Tsumi was witnessing everything from my perspective. After all of the trauma we've been through, her chakra and consciousness finally popped out in one of my shadow clones." No one's jaws seemed any closer to closing. "In a nut shell, we had her create the shadow clone and separate herself from me, and had Isami put on a temporary seal to make the body stable. Nagi, can you tell our chakra is different?"

They all looked to him as he hesitantly confirmed it. "They are indeed different. And from the hue of her eyes, I can tell she can use the Byakugan." No one felt the ability to move.

Finally, Tsumi spoke. "Alright, everyone inhale deeply and relax. I'm aware this is strange, but I am a member of Team Seven now as well. And right now, there are more important things to discuss." They did as she said as she sat down.

Yuuki placed her hands on the make shift podium and gathered everyone's attention once more. "The clock is ticking before something big happens here. There's a group called Hell's Phoenix running around, and I've bumped into them twice already. They're the people responsible for that fire in the forest four months ago and the A-mission my team went on in the Village Hidden in the Rivers." Datsu was constantly pointing at himself and his other teammates. Yuuki's eyes narrowed. "Since it clearly can't wait any longer, this is the group that was originally assigned the mission. Alright, stand up you three." The group did as they were told. Datsu lined up next to Yuuki, followed by Kaito and Akano. She smiled as she walked around to the other end to start introductions. "This is Akano. Takeshi fought with him on fairly equal ground, and that was with him being influenced with an S-ranked genjutsu. He's a pretty good sensor, capable of feeling chakra focused in your ears." Akano performed a modest half-bow. The boy had a couple of the girls' attention. "Next is Kaito. You probably noticed this massive blade he carries on his back and doesn't open his eyes very often." Yuuki too another glance at his sword. "It's even bigger than before…" The group was silent, watching the statue of a man. Thinking of trying to open up to the group, Kaito drew his blade with one hand.

"Would anyone like to feel its weight?" Before Yuuki could dissuade him, Kobi jumped up and eyed it.

"Sure, let's see it!" A Kaito dropped the sword in his hand, Kobi's entire body fell to the floor and planted there. Kobi jumped back up with a laugh.

"Just caught me off guard is all! Alright." With both hands, Kobi lifted as hard as he could. The sword barely budged. _Screw lifting this thing, I can barely push it up on its tip. _After a very sad struggle, Kobi managed to lift the sword upright. After a couple pants, Kobi pointed at Kaito like he was a monster. "How heavy is this thing!"

Kaito casually responded, "Seven-hundred pounds. Why?" The entire table froze. Kobi's eyes shot wider.

"Say that first!" Kaito nodded as he picked it back up and sheathed it.

"Kaito is the son of a samurai, so he's been training with swords his whole life. Not only can he use it with his weak hand alone, he can swing that sucker quick." Shivers ran down everyone's spine. They looked to the next person in line. Yuuki just pointed without a word.

"Yo, I'm Datsu! I'm the most powerful ninja in the world!" Yuuki flicked him in the eye and made him yelp.

"Yes, this is Datsu. Don't let his stupidity fool you: He knows just about every water jutsu in the book and single-handedly took out thirty-six grunts and two chunin level opponents." Only those on the mission could hold back their shock. Datsu himself had been flexing. "Together, this is Team Seven of the Village Hidden in the Rivers." The group was welcomed and she gave a brief period of time for them to mingle a bit.

"Alright Yuuki, what were you saying about this Hell's Phoenix? What if these are coincidences?" Shikamira was quick to jump back to business.

Yuuki crossed her arms. "I have information sources, that's why. Think about it: the first attack was aimed towards killing me and Takeshi to get my father to leave the village. This second attack that we brought to them, but they had been ready to assault the Village Hidden in the Rivers. The fact that they're attacking two different nations is a good indication these guys are a serious threat." Shikamira nodded and allowed her to continue on her point. Yuuki smiled as she looked back to the group. "Even with my prowess of information digging, I still can't get a lot of answers on these guys. However, as long as the information I received remains accurate, the Leaf will be unharmed for another three years. This comes from a very reliable source in the village." A subtle chatter began to rise.

Nagi spoke aloud now. "So, if we're gathering this information correctly, you're saying Konoha will be attacked in three years?" She nodded as she held her hand up.

"Listen, I'm telling you all this for a good reason. You can't let on that you know anything about Hell's Phoenix unless you have direct contact with them. Is that clear?" Shikamira and Nagi made eye contact and nodded. "I'm under the impression our parents and senseis don't want to inform us because they don't want us on the battlefield. Also, they don't want us to become paranoid while we're doing missions." She put her hands back on the podium and relaxed. "I'm not sure how much stronger you guys have gotten, but I believe my entire team, as well as Datsu's team, are already chunin." Her comrades seemed taken back. "I called you here for a good reason: Don't focus all your time on training for the chunin exam. Start training for the Jonin exams. Don't settle for less, and I don't want to see a single person in here to be defeated by anyone not in here. The Village Hidden in the Rivers are our allies, don't be ashamed of losing to them. Cool?"

Shikamira stood up now. "It looks like you've gained a lot of backbone, Yuuki. What do you think, other Team Seven? If you were to guess the strongest person in this room, who would it be?" _Should be an interesting way to start a little drama. _ Kaito and Akano pointed to Yuuki immediately, Datsu staring at the ground. He wanted to point to himself for old time sake, but he reluctantly showed his agreement.

Datsu spoke out. "I may have defeated two _chunin_, if you can call them that, but she wore out a jonin. She's almost died twice now, and she still acts like that. I don't care how you define strong. It's her."

The room fell somber. Shikamira sat back down. _Twice? A miscalculation on my part…_ "I didn't realize…"

"You have our support, Yuuki. I think what you're doing here is quite commendable." Nagi eyed everyone in the room involved in the mission. Their expressions described the mission. He bowed his head. "We should meet like this after the exams, regardless of the outcome. It's actually starting to unnerve me imagining how strong you are. But make a mistake, and you will lose in an instant."

After that, Shikamira rose again. "I think that's enough meeting for one night. Her team rose with her and approached the door. Shikamira looked back. "Let me know if you want help with strategies and tactics." Yuuki smiled and nodded her head. "After the exams, of course!" She was quick to shut the door, but paused for a moment outside. _I thought our team was the one taking this seriously. Jonin exams, huh?_

Nagi and Kobi were next to rise. "I take my leave. You can expect my cooperation in the future." Kobi turned and pointed to his nose.

"I've got you on my radar, Tsumi!" She rolled her eyes.

"Strike two, stalker." He lowered his head in defeat once more. As he went outside, Ripper was quick to greet him. _I'll get passed that rejection field eventually. _

"We should be going as well. However, can we postpone our team fight?" Kaito's request didn't shock them at all. Yuuki shook her head 'yes'.

"I don't want you three gaining any added knowledge on us before the exams either!" Yuuki's reply made Datsu grin.

"Alright, let's go!" Datsu dashed out the door, whereas Kaito and Akano casually walked out. Datsu was already down the street. _They look a lot stronger already…Especially Takeshi. I've got some serious training in the next few days._

Tsumi yawned and ventured to her room. "I'm tired. See you guys tomorrow." Noriko rose up and neared the door.

"Don't forget about it, Yuuki. I'll be early for training. Later." As the door shut, Yuuki and Takeshi walked up to each other.

"Well, how do you think I did?" Takeshi smiled, but narrowed his eyes.

"Great! You knocked that out of the park." Yuuki returned the same awkward reaction.

"Does something feel off to you? Like you're forgetting something?" Takeshi's mind raced. _Does she know? I don't think I did anything bad, necessarily…I just remember talking with Tsumi for a while and falling asleep. Honestly, that's all it was, right?_

"Nah, I don't know. Maybe I'm feeling like that to…" _This doesn't need to be brought up._

"…Everyone forgot me again…" They turned to see Shitto sitting at the table still. A shiver came down there spine.

"That's what it was. You can go home now, Shitto." He shrugged and slowly departed. Yuuki looked back at Takeshi, who had been sweating a little. _What's up with that?_ "Are you hiding something?"

Takeshi jolted and countered. "No. What's going on between you and Noriko? Are you two hiding something?"

Yuuki felt shocked at his rushed, annoyed tone. _It's not my place to tell him about Noriko. Still, he's being weird. _"Nothing. Did you have a rough day studying?"

"Studying?" Takeshi jolted. _Shit, why did I have to sound so confused._ "Oh! Yeah, studying was pretty rough. Lot's of studying, no sleep what-so-ever." Takeshi let out a nervous laugh. Yuuki scrunched her face and felt like she was being straight up blown off.

"Really? What subject?" She watched as he searched for words.

"Ugh, so much, really. Nothing specifically." _Shit, too vague. _"Vectors!" Yuuki nodded, just letting him spit it out. "So many kunai vectors, ninja running vectors. You know? Vectors…always those vector questions…"

Yuuki had heard enough. He didn't study at all. "Ok, just wondering. I'll see you tomorrow." Clearly irked, she spun around and left without saying bye. He sat inside his head, not moving for a minute. _I'm screwed. I didn't think I could be so dishonest._

He clinched his fist and turned around, trying to sound happy. "Yeah, see you later! Have a good sleep, can't wait to hang out tomorrow!" Her door shut loudly and he flinched. "Yup, fuck me, right?" Takeshi left pissed off himself. _I know I'm wrong, but she's hiding something to. She's just going to blow this out of proportion now. Still, acting like that. What a…" _Takeshi shook his thoughts away. "I need to cool it. I guess if that wasn't our first argument, it was the grounds for it. Shit."

OoOoOoOo

"So, you and Takeshi were studying pretty hard, huh?" Yuuki spoke to her sister, who didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Oh, yeah. Studying. So many terms and history notes covered. Boring, right?" Yuuki felt her composure leaving rather quickly.

"It's a shame I wasn't able to come along. I was kind of in the mood to do some vectors with Takeshi." Tsumi looked over to her with an indifferent face.

"Nah, it was nothing fun like that. You wouldn't have had as much fun with him." Yuuki's suspicions were confirmed and her heart couldn't believe it.

"Oh…I see." _Takeshi lied to me. Tsumi lied to me. Wouldn't have had as much fun with him? What the fuck?_

**-A/N-**

Oh snap! I didn't even add this drama in my original draft, but I decided to make things interesting. Just what happened between Takeshi and Tsumi? Is this going to blow out of proportion? I've been feeling a little lack of motivation lately, but I'm glad I finally got this chapter up and running. A month between updates? Shame on me!


	15. The Rising Tide

**-A/N-**

I'd like to thank those following the story. I write for my own amusement, but I'm glad other's take the time to entertain my story. That being said, I will understand if you don't like where I take it. I'm not really an experienced writer…

**Chapter 15: The Rising Tide**

"Are you really ready then?" Naruto talked through his food and swallowed. Yuuki sighed as she picked at her food.

"Yeah. I just can't believe Noriko would just dip out like that, you know?"

-Flash back-

"Much better, Yuuki. You can hold onto the sword if you want. You guys might want it in the exam." Noriko sheathed her swords and turned. Yuuki stopped her.

"Hey, what do you mean, 'you guys'? You're part of the team to!" Noriko stopped and smiled.

"I'm not going to participate." Yuuki jolted. "I don't want to participate to be accurate. There's a lot on my mind right now, and I just want to be alone and train." Yuuki looked down with a saddened expression. "Don't worry; I'll be watching you three." Noriko half turned to Yuuki. "You had better make it to the finals." She seemed happy about her decision, so Yuuki gave her a grin back.

"It's not about the finals to me. It's about facing every opponent with everything I've got. I'm not going to give anyone sympathy, and I don't expect any in return."

Noriko left. "Good Luck, Team Seven."

-End flash back-

Naruto grabbed seconds and Hinata responded. "Everyone walks their own path differently. When one road seems to close, another always opens. She'll be fine, Yuuki."

Tsumi finished her plate and nudged Yuuki. "Even I'm going to cut them a little slack. Are you sure you want to go all out?"

Yuuki took a few bites and leaned her head against her hand. "You can't be too careful. And when you act like you're struggling and then say 'just kidding' and stomp them, what does that do for them? I hate people who lie." Tsumi rolled her eyes. Naruto stared at her, feeling sympathy for her words. _That's how I used to see it. But the role is reversed; she may crush a lot of morale with the skill she possesses…_

"Whatever. It should be fun, that's what I'm saying. Are you all set?" Yuuki nodded and set down her glass.

"Good luck you two! No matter how it turns out, I'll be proud of you!" Hinata gave them a group hug and a kiss on either forehead. Both of them pulled back and swatted away.

Naruto was next: he placed his hands atop their heads a rubbed them vigorously. "Play safe out there now. Remember, these exams are a mission in their own right." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "And if Isami's given you any advice on the test portion, don't listen to it! He never did take those seriously."

Yuuki and Takeshi had an awkwardly silent greeting and began walking towards the academy. Along the way, he brought up a conversation. "Sucks about Noriko. Hope she knows what she's doing." Yuuki seemed to be in deep thought at the mention of her. Takeshi switched tempo. "That was a lecture of a breakfast I had! Man, if Hitomi told me to never listen to Isami one more time, I would swear he was up to something." Yuuki smirked, seeming to know where this was going.

"It's probably true; don't listen to him today." Takeshi and Tsumi looked at her confused, as if she had a scheme. _I may be on bad terms with them now, but they ARE still my team. I can't afford to hold a grudge._ "And who is that!" Yuuki pointed to the one hiding next to the fence near them. He jumped and jogged away in a panic. Yuuki glared his way and continued on. "Weirdo."

OoOoOoOo

As they arrived in the biggest classroom, their jaws dropped at the amount of people inside. "So this is a small amount of teams, huh?" There was around one-hundred fifty people. They had to separate in order to find a seat for the exam. Yuuki sat next to a boy who gave her a devious grin. His hair was short and brown, but she thought he was familiar for a moment. "Whatever…" Finally, Nia walked in the door and silenced everyone.

"Alright, this is the first stage of these exams. I will be the test administrator and grader. However, I refuse to sit in and watch a bunch of idiots fail this new exam, so I will not be observing. Here are the rules: If your team misses ten questions total, you will be asked to leave. Talking is cheating. If you are caught cheating, it will count for two missed questions. Got it?" The class dropped their jaws and some even began screaming. Nia smirked as she walked out. "Oh get over it you babies. Begin." _So, cheating is still acceptable then. Seems a bit too obvious though…_ The blank sheet in front of them glowed slightly. Yuuki slowly reached for the paper and touched it. Suddenly, text snapped onto the page with her name already on it and all the questions neatly ordered. Despite them being multiple choice, these questions weren't something even most chunin knew. They were about average to insanely hard logic questions. _Oh man, I hope Takeshi handles this well. I'm sure Tsumi will know enough._

"Yo, I'm the observer today!" Everyone's eyes shot to the door and saw Isami enter the door. Yuuki rolled her eyes and continued the test. _Saw that coming. _Isami looked over everyone as they went back to the test and sighed. "You know, they're only giving you twenty minutes for this exam, right? I hate the new set up." The classroom really became frantic now. Yuuki looked over to Datsu, who was nodding in agreement. _Don't listen to him, Datsu. _Isami picked up a copy of the test and looked over it. "Oh man, they're trying to screw you guys. Well, lucky for you guys, they picked the wrong observer for this test." Isami picked up a piece of chalk and wrote out the numbers one through fifty. He turned to them and winked. "I'm going to make sure they switch back to the old way. Shhhhh." One by one, he began writing an answer for every question. Yuuki noticed something and looked at her test. _He's giving wrong answers. I hope they can deduce that. _Surprisingly, Datsu was looking at his test and shaking his head in disagreement for one of the first questions. _Yes, probably number four. The chemical composition of water is…H__₂__O! Easy for him probably. _Clearly, a lot of the teams were falling for it as they vigorously circled answers. He stopped at question thirty-four and sighed. "This test is more retarded than I thought. Tell you what, I'm a Jonin. She's a chunin. Just crumple that test up and throw it!" Isami used his copy as an example.

Datsu trembled at the temptation, and he wasn't alone. He knew Isami, but this had to be a trap. Isami was pacing around. "Oh, come on! Haven't you realized the true nature of the test yet? They try to scare you guys and demoralize you. Show 'em you're not afraid of anything and throw that test. I'll take full responsibility for it." Finally, the person next to her stood up quickly and crumpled his test.

"He's right! I've made it through this testing portion before, and it was all just a scare tactic. The score doesn't even matter!" He threw his ball of test and matched grins with Isami. Several people throughout the room followed suit and nothing bad happened. Yuuki's eyes widened. _That's why I know that kid next to me! It was Isami's clone. Makes sense, I am pretty centrally located. Time for reinforcements. _Yuuki made a hand seal and smirked. Datsu picked his test up and felt his fingers twitching.

Suddenly, the door bust open to a very angry Hitomi. "You noisy pervert, what are you doing?"

Isami's eyebrow twitched. "Hitomi? Why are you here, I'm observing a test right now." Hitomi pointed straight at Datsu.

"If you crumple that test up, I swear to god I'll rip your nuts off!" Datsu slammed his test back down and covered himself. "That goes for everyone who hasn't listened to this dumbass. Set an example for once, pervert!" Isami looked over the remaining teams and saw them obediently listening. _I got plenty of people; I guess I'll call this one. _He looked back at 'Hitomi' and smirked. _Not bad, Yuuki. Making sure you all get there, huh?_

"Alright, all teams who cheated and all teams who threw their test are to leave immediately. This test is over." Isami planted his palm against the chalk board and a list of teams showed up. Yuuki noticed no Leaf teams or Datsu's team showed up. Hitomi dispersed in smoke. "I intended on taking this the full twenty minutes, but someone cleverly disguised a shadow clone as Hitomi Uchiha and saved a lot of you." Datsu looked back to Yuuki and put his hands in a prayer position. Nia walked in now.

"A lot of cheaters out there, huh? Well, for those of you who didn't cheat, we've already recorded your correct answers. If you don't pass the exams, the next time you will not see the questions you got right. When you get all the questions right, you get to skip this portion. Cool, huh?" Everyone left was pretty happy about it.

The window busted out and scrolls and banners began popping out everywhere. Lightning traced the strings and a great duo appeared before them. "The end of days are nigh! If you aren't prepared to die, you'd better run and hide!"

"Remember the chaperones of your demise! Anko and Kakashi Hatake have arrived!" Nia and Isami quickly pointed to them in anger and reminded them they were too early.

"Anyways, go with these two to the next stage of examination." The duo dipped their heads in depression at the lack of enthusiasm the group shared about their intro.

_That's what you can count on from those two. Were they ever really ninja? _Yuuki shook her head and continued.

OoOoOoOo

"Alright, this portion hasn't changed at all. The goal is to get both heaven and earth scrolls and deliver them to the objective point without opening them. Why? Because that's what you were told to do. You have seventy-two hours to complete the task or you're done for." Shino debriefed as Kakashi and Anko threw scrolls to the team captains. "What's so terrifying about the forest of death, you say? It's simple…" Shino turned to them and extended his hands up. Out of the brush, massive insects, snakes, and spiders poured in to prey on the group. As dozens of shrieks were lit off, the swarm was instantly killed, leaving their carcasses to fall upon the groups. Kakashi and Anko now stood next to Shino. _Wow, those old geezers can move that quickly?_

"Don't forget why you're here. You may have been recognized by your senseis as worthy, but if one of your teammates is lost or dead when you show up, you're disqualified. Consider how you have to get the other scroll, and well…you might die. Don't get poisoned either; it's embarrassing and usually lethal." Kakashi finished his speech and opened the gate. "Fighting within the first hour is forbidden. After that, anyone is fair game. We're watching you." He disappeared and the groups hesitantly approached the gate. Without a second to waste, a group of Sand ninjas ran through.

"Come on, it's not like you guys stand a chance anyways!" The boy seemed quite playful in tone, but his group seemed well disciplined. There was a Purplish-brown haired female holding a strange barrel and a man with shades and a mask like Kakashi's. Yuuki narrowed her eyes. _Another loud guy. I'll keep an eye out for them. Red hair…why do they seem familiar?_

"Alright, let's roll Team Seven!" Yuuki charged in next with Takeshi and Tsumi right there with her. As they were leaving, a lot of whispers and gossips filled the groups.

"Team Seven? I heard they've already defeated armies!"

"And they have the Byakugan and Sharingan. Stay away from them." The nameless ninjas were starting to freak each other out.

"Oh please! You're all cowards. I've taken on both of them before, it's not that hard!" Datsu ran up next, followed by Kaito and Akano. Seeing the massive sword of Kaito's made them even less heartened.

"Monsters! There are monsters in this exam!" The ninja with lesser guts had already pinned themselves as prime targets for everyone else. Surely the competition was tough, but the composed genin in the crowd had already made mental notes on which they could get the scrolls off of.

OoOoOoOo

"This isn't going to be difficult, is it?" Tsumi reached for the next branch as they shot through the trees. Yuuki and Takeshi stared ahead, focusing on making distance.

"What makes you so sure they won't group up against us?" Takeshi finally spoke out as they reached a brush line near a lake. Yuuki gave the thumbs up, indicating there were no targets anywhere near them. Tsumi sat down and relaxed.

"You kidding me? It looks like everyone froze when they heard we were Team Seven. I could hear the whispers, they're already counting themselves out."

Takeshi sat on a nearby rock himself and countered. "That could just as easily been a front to make the other genin target them. And I could feel the excitement surrounding some of the other teams. We can't let our reputation do the fighting for us." Yuuki now took a place to scratch on some paper.

"In the end, our reputation is going to assist in these fights. I'm surprised how fast the rumors spread, but it'll help unnerve them. Here's the way I want to take this one: Tsumi and I will send clones in pairs and send them in twelve directions, mimicking a clock. If we come across a team, we will assess them and report back." Takeshi sighed, interrupting Yuuki slightly. "I know, it sounds boring for you, but this is about getting the scroll we need and getting out. We don't need to take unnecessary risk, and the Byakugan will make scouting a breeze. What do you think? We still need to hold the central position, so we need your help here in case."

Hearing a rustle in the trees, Takeshi prepared to throw his kunai at the source, but the spider had already been staked to the tree. Yuuki lowered her arms and crossed them. He turned to her with a little shock. "We can't afford to slack, even for a moment. I know we all have become much stronger, but it only takes one mistake and we're done." Takeshi stood up and smirked at her.

"I'm really getting pumped up for these exams, you know?" Tsumi jumped up and stretched. Takeshi shifted his eyes between them. "I wonder which one of us has become the strongest, or which team is the better prepared?" He activated his sharingan to both his teammates' surprise. "You know, I'm not afraid of using it anymore."

_He's certainly more confident in himself anyways. _"All right then, let's do this!" Yuuki and Tsumi made twelve clones each and sent them on their way.

OoOoOoOo

"Well, well, it's been way to long! You sure you want to be all the way out here?" Naruto shook hands with an old friend. They sat down in his conference room and smiled.

"Nice to see everything's going well. I've heard Rekano's been doing well to. Making more allies to the west, are we?" The red-haired man sat a bit more casual now.

Naruto grinned. "I wish all the other Kage's were still in the team mindset as much as we are, Garaa. It's been difficult maintaining communications with the other nations." He nodded his head, reminded of the slipping of foreign relations. Naruto shook his thoughts back into motion. "But yeah, I'm seeing a lot more higher ups in this year's chunin exam."

Garaa laughed a little. "Well, I'm sure they want to see how we're shaping the next generation. I must say, I was looking forward to seeing your youngest participate, but now you've got two! A shocking story to say the least." Naruto rubbed his head and laughed. "Besides, I want to see how Shikamira's been doing."

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head. "Hey, I'm curious myself on how well Nezero is going to do. He looks quite full of energy. Kankiri seems like a chip off the old block as well." Garaa smiled as he thought it over.

"I trust there's another good reason why we're here. What's this report I got about a different Team Seven?" Naruto sipped on a glass of water.

"Yeah, from what's been reported to me, they're going to be something else this year. Rekano has my full support in his push towards becoming a great nation. Are you going to wait to find out what they're capable of?" Garaa shook his head.

"Nah, I've spoken with Rekano a few times. He has a lot of drive, and he certainly earns my respect as a leader. Bringing a village together and creating a country out of nothing, and a government that works and thrives? That on top of his skill is just incredible. I didn't have much a clue what I was doing at the age he set all that up. As far as I see it, he's got two votes already."

"There's going to be a lot of genins promoted this exam." Naruto stirred his water a bit and sat it down. Garaa dipped his head.

"You think it's going to get that bad? How are you going to be sure they're ready for this?" Naruto nodded his head before flipping a switch. Several screens showing the different teams displayed, shocking Garaa. "What are these?"

Naruto chuckled. "This, my friend, is the next big thing. It's still in prototypes, but you can see Shikamaru and Temari have been busy." Garaa couldn't help but inch his head closer, seeing his son. "From what I remember, Light is absorbed into a fine, chakra tuned crystal. The chakra acts as a carrier and transmits to a receiving crystal, which then filters the chakra and re-transmits the light. He explained how the different channels worked, but it's over my head. He's working on even getting sound to come in also." Garaa nodded, still fascinated by it. Naruto watched Yuuki devise her plan and send the clones out in twelve directions. _Very cunning, Yuuki._ "Just don't get worked up over what we see happen. I'm sure people would flip out if they saw what happened in our chunin exam. Regardless, we should find much better information on who is ready, and who is not, this way." Garaa nodded, rubbing his hair at what he did.

OoOoOoOo

"You see that?" Yuuki's clone pointed towards a set of chakra signatures. "That looks like Nagi's chakra, doesn't it?" Tsumi had to work a bit harder to see how far Yuuki was. After acquiring it, she nodded.

"You've been working on your range, huh? It's a bit early for me to know for certain, but it does look like it. Let's get closer and see what's happening." The clones nodded and moved to advance.

OoOo

They hid in the tree line as Nagi scanning over the opponents. Seeing them cautiously move around made them look unsure about what they were doing.

"Hey, there's no one here. It was probably one of those snakes, let's head for the finish."

The leader looked around for a while before standing up straight. "This forest creeps me out. If only we were doing this in the mountains."

Nagi narrowed his eyes. _So they're stone ninjas then. _Nagi looked to Shitto and nodded. Bugs began moving in slowly.

"We should find somewhere with solid ground." The man swatted at a few bugs that hovered by him. The leader turned to leave, swatting at them himself.

"Damn bugs, we must be near a swamp or something." More and more bugs began swarming and finally the farthest member of the group was getting covered. "What the hell?" Suddenly, a spiraling duo took out the second team member. When they stopped spinning, it revealed two German Shepherds. The leader backed up against the tree. "This forest is worse than I thought!" Nagi rolled out a scroll and slung ninja tools everywhere. _Ninjas? I'm done for._ He screamed as the bladed objects made contact with an ancient tree. The man opened an eye and realized he wasn't dead. However, his whole body was pinned to the tree. He looked around to find his comrades in the same condition. _That's impossible! No one's that good. _Nagi appeared before him and shut all his chakra off. _Byakugan?_

"Who has the heaven scroll?" Nagi crossed his arms as Kobi and Shitto revealed themselves. The man shifted his eyes over the group and shifted back to him.

"What makes you think we have that stupid scroll. We're stone ninja, I made sure to grab the earth scroll!" Nagi backed up and laughed.

"Oh, so that's how it is! Hey, there's no point in fighting then, is there?" The leader let out a sweat and laughed with him. _This guys an idiot! _"Let me get you guys down from there. You won't be able to fight much, but it's the least I can do." He rolled his head to his teammates. "Right, guys?" Shitto agreed and Kobi shrugged.

Once they were all released, Nagi apologized once more and left. The enemy team moved together and spoke desperately. "What was that! They were way better than us!" The leader snickered while he searched his pockets.

"I'll admit, they're good. However, they're all retards for taking an enemy's word on anything." He slowed to a stop with his eyes widened.

OoOo

"So, why are we just going to let them go? We could have taken their scroll and had a backup, right?" Nagi was looking at his earth scroll and shrugged.

"I don't know…" He then pulled out the heaven scroll and smirked. "Oops, I think they might have dropped this! You really are slow, you know that Kobi?" Kobi's face deadpanned as the group took off in laughter.

OoOo

The stone ninja collectively bowed their head. "Hey…I don't think they were retarded…" The leader raised his lame arm and smacked his teammate.

OoOo

"That was won pretty easily, huh?" Yuuki's clone sighed in boredom. Tsumi was quick to follow suit.

"Yeah, and the only thing we learned about Nagi's team is that he's really good at throwing weapons…Might as well disperse, huh?" They shared a nod and did so.

OoOoOoOo

"Well, looks like Team Five got their scrolls." Yuuki updated Takeshi, who had been pacing back in forth with boredom.

"Nagi, huh? That's not surprising. Any luck on finding nearby teams?" Before Yuuki could answer no, Tsumi pointed to two O'clock.

"There! They are lightning ninja though…" Takeshi crunched his fingers together and smirked. Yuuki rolled her eyes.

"No. Earth jutsu's won't do anything against them; it'll leave you wide open to attack." Takeshi smiled.

"What, you don't think I know that? I'm not rushing into this decision, I know better. Now if you consider that I'm not going to use earth jutsus, and that you two know a few wind jutsus…see what I'm sayin'?" Tsumi rubbed her head and nodded. Yuuki sighed.

"Alright, but Tsumi's not that good with wind jutsus for your information. Her affinities differ from mine." Takeshi stopped and started. _No way, they really are a lot different. _

Tsumi spoke out. "My primary affinity is lightning, secondary is fire…" Takeshi nodded his head. _Just like dad then. _"And thirdly is water." His jaw dropped. _No way, she has three? _"I don't really like using jutsus anyways, so it's no big deal." Takeshi tightened his forehead protector and smirked.

"Well, let's stop messing around and go!" Yuuki nodded, grinning right back.

OoOoOo

"Wait!" The clone stuck her hand out and watched the guy with red hair grab the scroll from his body. "Shoot, we missed the better part of this one." The opponent spat out blood and lifted his head.

"I didn't expect you guys to actually be a challenge the way you ran in here…" He knelt down to his defeated opponent and grinned. "A puppet user too. She was stronger than I planned… What are your names?"

He pulled the man's head up. "I'm Nazero." He twisted the man's head to the girl.

"Kankiri…" She responded. As the man's head was shifted to the teammate in sunglasses, he said nothing. An awkward silence sustained itself for a moment. Kankiri stepped over and pointed to him. "…Vin."

Nazero turned his head back to him. "I'm the son of Garaa, the Fifth Kazekage. She's my cousin. And Vin…anyways, I'm going to be the next Kazekage. Wait and see!"

OoOo

"Not bad, at least I know where I've seen him from then." Yuuki's clone dispersed in smoke and Tsumi followed suit.

OoOoOoOo

"Hey, your boy turned out to be pretty cool!" Naruto smiled as Garaa sighed.

"Yeah, he reminds me of a certain someone I know…" Naruto tilted his head, as if not seeing the resemblance.

"Vin seems…interesting." Garaa shrugged his shoulders.

"He doesn't really talk, but Nazero seems to like him as a rival." They nodded over the strange boy, finding no more words to describe him. "Nazero's gotten quite good. I wasn't sure if I should send him or not, but he's made it this far." Naruto agreed, watching Yuuki's team shoot across several monitors. "Looks like Shikamira's team are setting up a trap near the objective point. She seems like quite the thinker, huh?" Naruto looked himself and nodded.

"I don't know how the Nara's are always so smart. She and Yuuki were always battling for the highest grades on test. I wonder how much better she's gotten." The group was patient and willing to cooperate with each other. "Funny, InoShikaCho team is still intact after all these years."

Garaa's eyes shifted to a separate monitor and widened his eyes. "Hey, looks like the river ninja know your jutsu." Naruto's face deadpanned as he saw Datsu multiplied and terrifying a team. The enemies had backed into each other and were absolutely soaked. Kaito walked up and pointed his sword at them and they simply passed out. Garaa shifted around and shook his head. "That fight must have been over before it started. At their age, I don't blame them. Look at the size of that blade!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "It looks bigger than it used to, and that's saying a lot." He shook his thoughts straight. "I can't believe Yuuki taught someone shadow clones! That's been like a family trademark!" He began rubbing his temples in frustration. As he looked up, he noticed team seven come into view near their marks. He leaned forward and focused on them. "I'll take a rain check on that thought. Looks like we're going to see what they can do." Garaa leaned in casually, subtly intrigued himself.

OoOoOoOo

"Alright, is everyone ok with the plan?" She checked between Takeshi and Tsumi and waited for them to nod. After that, she made three clones disguised as the team. Upon her signal, they jumped out into the clearing and confronted the enemies.

Immediately upon landing, they were forced into dodging kunai and getting some distance from the team. Now both teams regrouped and stared each other down. Before long, the lighting ninja pulled out the Earth scroll. Yuuki's clone eyed her and pulled out the Heaven scroll. The girl before them sighed. "Team Seven, huh? I was hoping to face you three in the tournament, but I guess there's no avoiding it now." She looked back to her team with a serious face. "Tegun, Hoshido, what do you say?" The first teammate punched his fingerless gloves with a determined face and a confident stance. Hoshido, however, seemed to be pondering about something. Finally he answered.

"What if we trip on a branch? Then we may leave an opening and get seriously injured, possibly crippling ourselves. That would make life quite difficult." It took no time at all for Tegun to smack him.

"Let's give this everything we've got, Lili!" She turned back to the team, but quickly reacted to a clone spawned in front of her with a spinning kick. Lili tucked the scroll away and smirked.

"It'll take more than some fancy tricks to catch me off guard. I'm well aware of the rumors around your team, but we have a strong reputation in our village as well. Prepare yourselves!" Her team dipped down and prepared to attack. To her surprise, Takeshi and Tsumi advanced on them and she prepared a jutsu. Lili signaled her team and began a jutsu herself.

"Suiton: Kokuun!" Black clouds appeared over them and began raining oil. Yuuki smirked from the brush as Takeshi prepared his jutsu. _With a collaboration of this magnitude, the match will be over before it began._ The teams met and the clones dispersed a smoke that masked the origin of Takeshi's fire ball.

"Katon: Goenkyu!" The massive fireball began creeping in over the area. The reaction with oil made a violent and intense heat coat the area. Takeshi began sweating himself. _This is too much! The whole forest is going to burn like this!_

"Suiton: Mizu no Tatsumaki!" Suddenly, a massive water tornado encircled the enemy team and the fire and oil were doused immediately. It followed through to reach even team seven from the great distance. Lili stood tall as her teammates wiped their foreheads in relief. "These guys are dangerous alone, but even more dangerous in a team. We have no choice but to split them up. This better work, Hoshido…" Her team quickly split up and Yuuki sprang up.

"Shoot." She pondered for a moment as her team awaited her plan. "Takeshi, I want you to go after fingerless gloves guy. He looks like a man with good taijutsu. Tsumi, I think you should handle thinking guy. Press the attack; don't let him catch you off guard. I'll tail the girl, there's something I need to confirm about her. Got it?" Takeshi bolted off with a smirk and Tsumi followed her orders, leaving a clone. The clone responded to her strategy.

"Are you sure we should be fighting on their terms? I mean, they just took the momentum, didn't they?" Yuuki began running forward, prompting the clone to follow.

"I have a suspicion they're trying to split up and cross paths to catch us off guard. Specifically, they have no guarantee we'll split off separately. Tegun looks like he's looking for a fight with Takeshi, but Hoshido will try to stick to the plan. They won't be prepared for you to know shadow clones as well. Trap him, and I'll handle Lili. I'm pretty sure she has a kekkei genkai. When you think Hoshido has led you far enough away, turn back to help me. Then he will have to chase you." The clone sighed before giving her a smile.

"I've got some of your smarts, but it looks like you've retained the advantage in that category. But I'm not about to let you fight her alone. I'll be sure to finish this guy in a hurry." Tsumi winked and released the clone. Yuuki turned forward and scoped out her opponent. _Rough team compared to the others. I can't let them down. _

OoOoOoOo

"An Uchiha huh?" Tegun stood with his arms crossed and a grin on his face. "I've heard a good deal about you, Takeshi." He was taken aback by the guy's familiarity. Tegun scrunched his body up and put his fist high. "It's not like I have a grudge or anything! Let's have fun with this one, right?"

Takeshi balanced himself out and prepared himself, only to take several body shots followed by a blow to the face. Takeshi took a step back. _What the? He closed the gap and got eight hits in already? _Takeshi did not hesitate to activate his sharingan. Tegun chuckled, starting a short hoping motion. _I've got to be careful with this guy, those punches weren't light either. _Now several strikes came flying out. He closed in with several jabs, worked in hooks, and went for an uppercut. Takeshi managed to evade every blow and grabbed Tegun's arm. Takeshi took advantage of the shock and twisted into a kick to the face. Tegun flew to the floor. However, it didn't take long for him to get back on his feet. "You've got some solid fist there. What kind of style is that?" Tegun spit out blood and smiled with excitement.

"It's called boxing. I fight in tournaments all the time. I've first got to give you credit for not getting knocked out by the first combo. Next, for catching me off guard and knocking me down. Rules dictate that the match is lost if you go down three times in a round. That means I've only got two more, huh?" Takeshi felt his blood pumping harder and a smile grow on his face. _Looks like he's putting lighting chakra into his body now. He's got an ace up his sleeve. I doubt he's prepared to deal with the sharingan though._

"Sounds interesting. I think I'll cooperate with the rules. Just don't get too worked up when I knock you down again!" Takeshi widened his base and let his face show his confidence.

OoOo

_We're pretty far now. I think it's about time to test her theory out. _Tsumi stopped in place and summoned four clones. Hoshido stopped and groaned. "Damn, you figured out what we're doing, didn't you?" Tsumi stuck her tongue out with a smile and turned back towards Yuuki. With impressive speed, she took off and left her clones in Hoshido's way. He sighed as he rubbed his head. "Oh man, I really screwed up, huh?" He pulled out a scroll and planted his hand on it. Within no time, the clones had already forced him to jump away from it. But rather, he was bracing himself for what was coming. The clones looked down to find he had summoned pre-activated bombs of sort. As they braced for the impact, Hoshido used the chance to quickly evacuate the area. The bombs lit of a tiny hiss, only to make the clones attempt to run themselves.

"Crap!" Before they even knew what hit them, the clones were paralyzed in place. "A two part paralysis trap. We can't release either."

OoOo

_This should be good. Hoshido will be here in a few minutes. _Lili stopped and faced Yuuki. "That's enough running now. I'll give you credit for using ninjutsu even though you have the byakugan. However, without your team around, I am the one at the advantage." Yuuki split herself into a dozen clones and crossed her arms. Lili wouldn't show it, but her heart felt a hint of fear at the sight.

"Just give me the scroll and be on your way. At least that way, you can try to get two scrolls. There are two and a half days left in this trial." Lili laughed at her resolution.

"My, aren't you the arrogant one. I wonder how long that will last!" Yuuki's clones used several kawarimi and advanced on her. Lili broke out in sweat as she rushed several hand seals. Yuuki looked at the unusual seals and awaited the outcome. "Storm release: Webbing lightning!" A chaotic, yet somehow precise series of lightning arcs jumped from her hands and took out her shadow clones in one fell swoop. Yuuki herself was forced to dip back several feet to avoid the attack. Lili clenched her fist in entertainment. "How's that! You're not the only person who has a blood line limit!" Yuuki rose and brushed her hair aside with a grin.

"That's pretty cool! But what are you going to do about these guys?" Yuuki pointed her thumb behind her to reveal dozens of clones. She growled in anger, seeing more charge her. _I heard shadow clones are supposed to severely drain the users chakra. Why isn't she even sweating? _Half the charging clones stopped mid-range from her as the other half continued to charge.

Lili began frantically piecing more hand seals out. _It's like she's controlling a platoon!_ "Storm Release: Elegant thunder!" Now a thick bolt of lightning that flowed like a water dragon began dancing to her hands command. It was making quick work of most the clones, but a couple managed to get in on her. Lili dropped the technique and went for another jutsu, only to feel her right arm get stung several times from behind. As the arm went limp, she caught the back of its head with her heel. At once, the clones blew up into a powerful pocket of air. _Crap, they were wind clones?_ With her good hand, she quickly made seals. The clones at midrange now spewed out fire jutsu.

"Fire style: Small fire!" The handful of clones released the weak jutsu and it intensified as it neared Lili.

"Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Lili cast out the vortex water and overpowered the midrange clones. Yuuki was shocked by the one handed performance. She quickly retreated to high ground as her last clones launched their jutsu.

"This is it! Water release: Giant wave crash!" Lili's heart stopped and her eyes widened at the sound of the jutsu. Not just that it was A ranked, but that a dozen people were using it at once. _I can't compete with her at all! _In unison, the jutsu was released and a five story tidal wave was commanded her way. Lili braced as much of the shock as she could with the water twister she used earlier before she was engulfed in a sea of water. The whole forest could feel its force.

OoOo

Naruto pumped his fist in the air screaming as Garaa shared the shock of all the other teams on the monitor. "That was freaking epic!" Garaa narrowed his eyes at him, making Naruto cough some composure back into himself.

"She's not even tired! How much chakra does your daughter have!" Naruto shrugged at the question and looked over the monitors. It was true; every team in view was frozen in fear at the sight and sound. Even Datsu stared in disbelief himself. Naruto looked at Takeshi and Tsumi, both staring at the origin of the ocean.

"Maybe she went overboard…But she won't do it again. I'm pretty sure that's the first time she's used that jutsu in multiple quantities. I've heard that justu was powerful enough to push Killer Bee back in eight-tales form by itself. I guess if you consider multiplying it..." They watched as the water calmed itself and finally revealed a barren path of fallen trees.

OoOo

Takeshi lowered his guard and watched Tegun's jaw return to normal. The guy was a mess. Takeshi had been smashing his face and ribs in the whole time. Takeshi himself had went down once, but after his eyes adjusted to him, Tegun was getting a one way beating. "What do you say we call this one? I'm not sure who's that was, but I'm just as concerned with my team as you are."

Tegun didn't respond to Takeshi, but was quick to rush to the forest line. "Lili, are you alright?" Takeshi turned and dropped his jaw. The girl was battered and severely beaten. Tegun grabbed her and sat her down. She looked up to him as she pulled the scroll out.

"Take it…and run! We're no match." Tegun grabbed the scroll in anger and threw it.

"Are you kidding me? You're supposed to be invincible. Why do you look like shit!" He chuckled and held back his tears.

"You look like shit too. Maybe I…just wanted to see your reaction." She laughed and coughed up more water. Yuuki arrived on scene with Tsumi and crossed her arms.

"You're not going to die are you? I tried to warn you, you know?" Yuuki gathered chakra in her hands and assessed the wounds.

Lili laughed in response. "Fuck you, beast." Yuuki smiled at the insult and put her hands on her hips. Tegun looked at her in confusion.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at medical ninjutsu. I can at least diagnose that she has a few fractures, but nothing serious. She's going to be in pain for a while until she gets medical treatment." Takeshi and Tsumi dropped their jaws. Just how much was too much? Hoshido arrived now and startled Tsumi.

"How'd you get passed all the clones?" He glanced at her and looked back to his defeated teammates.

"Paralysis gas. I guess we lost, huh?" Hoshido walked over to them and knelt down to them. "We really wanted this exam to go well, but there's always spring term. Take our scroll, we'll be ok from here." He pulled out a small first aid kit and began tending to his comrade.

Yuuki grabbed the scroll and gathered her group. She looked back to Lili and rubbed her chin. "There's one thing I couldn't quite grasp about our fight. How did you cast jutsus with a single hand?" Lili looked up at her with a smile.

"It's not something normal ninja can do. I can combine lightning and water elements to form the storm release. Luckily, I use my right arm to manipulate lightning and my left arm to manipulate water, so my good arm could still throw out that last bit of protection." Yuuki seemed to jolt, looking at her arms and clenching them. Lili narrowed her eyes. "You have to have a kekkei genkai, Yuuki."

She knelt down to her and got close. "How did you learn to use yours? I have an Ice release, but I don't understand how to use it!" Lili could see her desperation and could only smile. _So she has that too? I think I'm in front of the strongest ninja on the planet._

"I'm sorry, I was taught by my father. Even then, each release is different. You have to understand the nature itself inside and out. I always practice on stormy days." Yuuki lowered her head and stood back up.

"I hope our paths cross once more. Next time I'll be sure to compete with your storm element." Yuuki grinned at her, making Lili roll her eyes.

"Start trying to use jutsus with one hand. That's all I can offer you advice-wise. What are you in such a rush to get so powerful for?" Yuuki turned and made sure everything was securely fastened. At this question, everyone listened closely.

"I'm not going to let anyone get hurt by Hell's Phoenix anymore. If someone feels like they can make a difference, do they not act upon it?" Takeshi nodded as he checked himself. Lili didn't understand the whole situation around them, but she didn't ask any more questions.

Tegun shot his head back to Takeshi. "We're not finished with that spar, Uchiha Takeshi! Next time, I'll come at you even faster!" Takeshi looked back his way and smiled.

"And I welcome you to try!" Hoshido and Tsumi looked at each other and shrugged. Apparently they didn't really have much an inclination to rematch.

"Become stronger, we need ninja like you to help counter this threat. We'll end this evil that's coming once and for all." Team Seven departed and left the lightning ninja to staring. Lili pushed herself up and held onto Tegun.

"I wonder if we're going to be able to stay for the tournament. Something makes me want to believe what she says."

OoOoOoOo

"Looks like that's everyone, huh?" Garaa shifted his eyes from the monitor that once had Shikamira's team. Naruto blinked a couple of times and sighed.

"We missed that fight? Man, so much for all this innovation!" On the primary screen, they saw the Jonin report to Kiba. He looked up to the screen and signaled it was over. Naruto rose up and checked the time. "Oh come on! It's only been eight hours! That's faster than when Isami went through." Garaa patted himself off as he rose as well.

"I guess we should head down there and call it. So few teams this year…I wonder why?"

"I'm not sure, but I hope we can all meet up soon. After the Chunin exams are over, I want to hold an emergency meeting of the Kages. It's been too long, and it's only a matter of time before Hell's Phoenix moves again." _I think I need to talk to Yuuki about her training. She's going too far._

**-A/N-**

There's chapter fifteen. No, Yuuki won't know medical ninjutsu. I have plans for the characters, and she's covering the basics I feel most jonin should know. I'm sorry if this felt a bit rushed, but I've been keeping the chapters longer than I'd like, and the story was moving a bit slow. Expect some good fights coming, and expect to truly understand the story in the near future. Keep your eyes open for context clues in my writing. You'll find I enjoy leaving them.


	16. Oh Slap!

**-A/N-**

I know everyone who reads currently hates me for these long updates, but I'm trying. Leaving the NAVY next week, may have easier times updating. For the two people who enjoy this story, I don't drop any of my stories. Even if you stop reading, the chapters will come. Peace.

**-A/N-**

**Chapter 16: Oh Slap!**

"Alright, we made it!" Yuuki observed the marking on the door. "Heaven huh?" She threw a kunai at the door and watched it blast off. She reached for the Earth scroll and smashed it against the seal and it swung the door open. She looked back to them and shrugged. "Good guess?" They laughed while cautiously entering the door. There was a shrine in the center, well lit by candle light. There were two spots for the scrolls to sit and a raised platform. Yuuki gave the scrolls to Takeshi and Tsumi and stepped up. "Go ahead and open them." Takeshi and Tsumi looked at each other and sighed. Slowly, they peeled away and opened the scrolls.

"Looks like we're set." He noticed the circle and put his palm on it, channeling chakra into it. Tsumi followed suit on hers. On the wall, another circle appeared and awaited Yuuki's palm. As she channeled her chakra into it, text appeared on the wall. She glanced over it. Takeshi looked up. "What's it say, Yuuki."

She cleared her throat. "We have united the scrolls of heaven and earth. Uzumaki Yuuki, Uzumaki Tsumi, and Uchiha Takeshi of Team Seven have withstood the sins of the earth in hopes we may receive the blessings of the Heavens. Together, we stand ready to move forward and ask for the opportunity to prove ourselves worthy as Chunin." She looked back and shrugged. Suddenly, the wall blasted open and Yuuki was knocked back to her team. Smoke began pouring in.

"Is it an angle?" Tsumi peered through the smoke and finally heard a man coughing. The teams face deadpanned.

"One moment!" He wheezed air back into his lungs and relaxed. "Maybe I tried a little too hard to hold that smoke in."

"Uncle Konohamaru…More like a demon has appeared." He narrowed his eyes, but let it go.

"You three have grown powerful in the small amount of time I've mentored you. I put your names forth out of approval of your skills, and you have proven yourselves by making it this far. I've seen just how great your potential is, and although Noriko isn't here today, I couldn't have asked for a better team to lead. Whether you become chunin or not, I hope we can work together in the future." The team felt chills run down their spines hearing their sensei give them final words. The whole building dissolved and he closed his eyes with a smile. "Now go show them what the trueTeam Seven's made of!" He dispersed and they were in a room with four other teams and looked at the line of Jonin and ninja she knew well.

"The last team to arrive is Team Seven of the Leaf! Congratulations." Yuuki looked over the four teams aside from them. _So few…_ She saw Nagi, Shikamira, and Datsu and smiled at them. _We all managed to make it, that's awesome. _

"Sorry we took so long, I guess." Yuuki rubbed her head and laughed nervously. Kiba stepped forward and grinned.

"Alright, we've got something to say." Naruto and Garaa stepped through the doors and waved at the teams to relax.

"We've watched your battles intently and appreciate the qualities not only the leaders have shown us, but the members as well. Whether you scared the teams to death, overpowered them, or out smarted them, the result is the same to me: You deserve to be here." Naruto passed the torch to Garaa.

"I know it may seem like there's only a handful of you, but you are the only ones who were composed enough to accomplish the mission admirably. We had a lot of failures on the test, thanks to Isami there…" Isami scratched his head and laughed innocently. "And even still, we had several teams open their scrolls early, or get a nasty wound in the last portion. Who you see before you now are the ones that really earned it today."

Garaa opened the floor to Kiba. "When you placed your chakra on the test, we also recorded your current stats. Don't ask me how that stuff works, I don't think it matters personally. We're not going to throw them out in front of any one, but you will see where you place among the elite genin. Also, even if you're listed last on this list, you are fifteenth out of one hundred sixty-two. Show some pride I that."

The screen above flickered several times and everyone's eyes glued to it. Slowly, a list of names began filing from the bottom. The first name that showed was Chojiko. He dipped his head. Next was Shitto, who didn't really seem to care. Next was Akano, which Datsu wouldn't stop snickering at. Kobi was next on the list, which made him scoff. Then came Inora and Shikamira, which they didn't seem too happy with. Now came Kaito, and know the shock of the high competition level began to reveal itself. Datsu made a quick point to poke fun at him. That is until his name came up. "What? Eighth? How? I'm the Main character!"

Kaito leaned over to him with a devious smirk. "Looks like we're in the bottom-middle tier." Datsu dipped his head in shame. Next was Kankiri, and then came Nagi. He seemed to be surprised, yet content with sixth. He shifted his eyes to Yuuki and met her gaze. She looked back up to the board. _Is our team really that strong?_ She shook her head. _No, it must be the same as Isami's stat card. Just numbers. _Vin and Nezero were next to follow, which Nezero danced around Vin as if to brag. At this point, everyone was aware Team Seven were the top three. They waited to see what order they would show in. Everyone gasped as Takeshi showed next. He sighed with a smile, looking between his teammates. Tsumi's name showed next and her jaw couldn't have dropped any lower. _Is that really right? Takeshi at least has to be stronger than me. _That left Yuuki's name to show atop all of them. Most the group was suspended in shock. Kiba could sense the awkward air and moved on.

"Alright, enough of that. Anything can happen in these fights, the stats just judge who looks the best on paper. Just looking at this group, I can tell there's going to be some upsets." While it helped calm them, the group couldn't refrain from being intimidated. "You probably noticed that there are fifteen of you, so the highest rated ninja has a bye. Everyone give Yuuki the stink eye!" She dipped her head at not being able to fight in the first round. "Now I want everyone to draw a number from this box." He dropped his fist on said box next to him and everyone lined up to grab one. "Don't open it until I say." They picked in order of rankings and grouped up once more. "Open them, and if you have the number one, raise your hand. There should be two of you." They did as they were told and every quickly scanned the room.

Chojiko closed his eyes and raised his hand. "Is it bad, sis?" No response was heard for a moment until she finally rested her arm on him.

"I think you can take him with a bit of luck." Chojiko peeked open his eyes to see her smiling warmly at him. Now he looked at who raised his hand and fainted. Everyone looked his way with a sweat drop. "Okay, maybe a lot of luck." Kiba tried to regain composure as he continued.

"So anyways, the first fight is Chojiko vs. Kaito!" Kaito did nothing but show a confused posture at the stares he was given. Everyone collected the same thought. _Chojiko lost…_ "Two, who's got it?" Shitto and Tsumi raised their hands. Shitto gave her one look. _Damn it. Why? Because she's second from the top and I'm second from the bottom… _

"Go show her who's boss, eh Shitto?" Nagi and Kobi smacked him on the back to show some encouragement.

"Three?" Shikamira and Kankiri raised their hands and met eyes. Nothing needed to be said. "Four?" Takeshi raised his hand and narrowed his eyes at his opponent. _Vin…Who is this guy? _"Five?" Nagi and Akano raised hands. Neither of them said a thing and remained staring forward. A couple girls around seemed to be excited. "Six, go ahead." Inora raised her hand and instantly began feeling the pressure. Nezero raised his hand and grinned.

"Hey, she's not bad looking, is she Vin? Shouldn't be too hard." Garaa was quick to flick him aside the head. Turning to yell at his aggressor, Nezero was also just as fast to laugh innocently as he saw his father.

"Don't get cocky, Nezero." Kiba rolled his eyes and looked to the last two.

"Cool, which obviously means it's going to be Datsu and Kobi in the seventh fight." Both of them raised their hands and everyone's face deadpanned. Kiba rubbed his eyes. "You don't need to raise your hands, we know." They disregarded his comment and grinned at each other. After an intense staring contest went on for entirely too long, Datsu blinked. Kobi began celebrating, but was cut off by his father. "Kobi! Datsu! Put your hands down already!" They did as they were ordered and snapped back in line. "You guys finished a couple days early, so we'll meet at the arena in three days. Good luck!" With that, he grabbed his son by the nose and disappeared. Once more, the group shared an awkward silence coupled with a few snickers. Most the teams split off in gossip of who was going to win what. Team Seven wasn't exactly among them.

OoOoOoOo

"Come on sis. Why are you in such a foul mood recently? You haven't been saying much of anything since we left." Yuuki continued walking, now more irked by their audacity. They had to have a pretty good guess why. Takeshi grunted as his girlfriend blew them off.

It took all the way until they were home before Yuuki halted and looked at them. She turned to Tsumi. "Hey, could you give Takeshi and I a chance to talk alone?"

She shrugged putting on an ignorant face. "Ok, just don't starting any fights without me!" As soon as her sister left, Yuuki scowled at Takeshi, making him sweat a little.

"What? Did I make you angry about something?" She didn't even flinch at his question.

"When do you plan on telling me, or do you think this is a game?" He could feel his heart sink.

"Is this about the jutsus I learned, or the training I went through to get stronger? I'm sorry if you feel left out…" _I think I know what she's talking about, but I can't tell her everything. Maybe this will change the subject._ Before he knew it, he found his face twisted to the right and his eyes grew wide. The speed and power behind it made for a loud crack. That was no friendly slap. His shock began growing into guilt mixed with anger.

"You think I'd be concerned about something like that?" Takeshi glared at her, clenching his fist. Yuuki pulled back a little. _I can't believe I just hit him like that. _"…sorry."

"Sorry?" Takeshi's voice boomed at her. "You slap me and say you didn't even care about what I went through, and all you say is sorry?" Yuuki felt herself shrink. "We spent all that time apart, training to challenge each other. We reunite, and your sister is the only one who noticed how hard I worked? And then, rather than spend time together, you hang out with Noriko every afternoon. And now, you slapped me. What the Fuck!" Takeshi countered her argument before it even began.

Yuuki looked away, almost in tears. _This is supposed to be my confrontation. Why does he seem so pissed at me. _"Stop shouting so loudly at me! I did notice how much you hid of your progress, and there's a damn good reason I was with Noriko every night. I thought we both agreed to get stronger as fast as possible."

Takeshi sighed. "Can't you hear yourself? You're becoming too obsessed over strength that it's starting to push people away. In some ways, I see more of you in Tsumi than I see in you now. When's the last time we've reminisced about the past?"

Yuuki felt more fuel surge now. "What's that supposed to be implying? Just tell me straight up: what happened that night you guys left to study?"

Takeshi froze for a moment. _Damn it. Maybe she already knows what happened. This needs to stop before we become enemies. But how much does she really know? _Takeshi sighed. "You're over-reacting, Yuuki. Yes, it's probably obvious we didn't study, but all we did was talk about old times." Yuuki paused, seemingly waiting for him to elaborate. "It started with her not really even wanting to study. Somehow, she remembered the curry stain on the carpet, and then we just entertained each other with memories." Yuuki seemed to hesitate, then look down. _The curry stain? I remember that. Did they lie so I wouldn't get mad at him for not studying? That means…_ Takeshi crossed his arms. "Did you even know your sister had your memories?" Her head sank more. _Have I really let training get the better of my judgment skills? No, something's not adding up. _Takeshi dipped his head. "I'm even more upset with you than I even knew."

Yuuki suddenly vanished. He wasn't too surprised. "Isami, huh? She won't like that, but it gets me out of this situation anyways. I wonder if he heard it all." _Still, that memory. Just what is his relationship with my sister?_

OoOoOoOo

"Bring me back! Right now!" Yuuki returned the glare that he was still giving her. Isami wasn't even half considering bringing her back. _What, did I piss off everyone today?_

"Yuuki, what you did today was unacceptable." She now remembered the massive tsunami she generated. She shook her head with an upset face. Isami sighed. "I don't need to tell you what you did wrong, but I'm going to anyways so it doesn't happen again. Today, even though you had plenty of options, you chose to test a move you knew would be powerful on its own and combine its strength multiple times. You may not have considered it at the time, but that was far too reckless. I'm not saying you need to stop training, but you need to take more time to get your mind off strength. I don't want to see my sister lose the things she loves and watch regret eat her soul." Yuuki looked miserable, as the guilt had been overwhelming her. He gave out a more concerned look now. "I know you don't like it, but I saw everything that happened between you and Takeshi. I'm here if you want to talk-" Yuuki buried her face into his chest and began sobbing. Despite the shock, Isami wrapped an arm around her head and let out a sigh. He began rubbing her head. "It's ok to cry. Just let it out, Yuuki."

OoOoOoOo

"Hey there! I heard you did quite well there, bro!" Takeshi eyed his sister with a half-hearted smile, letting his expression falter down into an indifferent face.

"What's up? Mom and dad home, or no?" Hitomi frowned, pinching his cheek rather hard.

"Oh? What kind of greeting is that? Did you get into trouble?" Takeshi pulled away smacking. _Seriously, how does she know? _Rather than counter her claim, he just sighed. In response, she forced him onto the couch and glared at him. "Mom and dad aren't here, so it's just you and me. You can tell me what's bothering you."

Takeshi crossed his arms and looked away. After a moment of silence, he glanced back to see her still staring intently. Another sigh came out as he laid his arms to the side. "Alright, fine. Yuuki and I had our first argument. It was harmless though."

Hitomi poked him in the forehead, not letting up her expression. "Liar! Your left cheek is red and you are in too foul a mood for it to have been harmless. I want a proper explanation!"

Takeshi glared at her now. "And I refuse! I've got a lot to think about." Hitomi pulled back. _That usually works on him…_

"Takeshi…you can't just get me worried and then pretend like it's not my problem as a big sister. Please don't brush me off." He let out a grunt before leaning forward.

"Alright, here's a proposal. I'll tell you the whole truth about this only if you tell me the whole truth behind something that's bothering me. Does that sound fair?" She tilted her head in confusion, but nodded in agreement. Takeshi smiled, but looked away.

"Alright, when I, dad, and mom were training for that month, Yuuki and I barely had time for each other. After a couple weeks, it seemed like she had forgotten about us. I didn't really think it was her fault, so I made sure to get stronger so she would notice. However, on the first day back as a team, she sent me home with Tsumi and stayed with Noriko, not once remarking on any of my improvements. I guess that's why I was caught off guard by Tsumi's abundance of…compliments." Hitomi sank her head, figuring what he was leading to. Takeshi did as well. "It turns out that Tsumi remembered memories through Yuuki's experiences, so we started talking more, laughing, and drawing closer." Takeshi shifted his eyes away. "Then I guess we fell asleep and she was on top of me when I woke up." Hitomi blushed and covered her ears.

"Too much information! I didn't really think you started this young!" Now Takeshi began blushing, stuttering over his words and waving his hands.

"I-Idiot! We were clothed! I'm saying she just fell asleep on me." Hitomi stared at him for a moment and rubbed her head.

"Ohh…you should have been more specific." She remembered a detail and scrunched on her suspicious face. "That's obviously bad for a relationship, and even with her sister…but, 'you guess you fell asleep'? And you shifted your eyes before that. There's more to it, isn't there?"

Takeshi cursed under his breath. He began sweating under her glare. "Fine! I was pretty tired and we might have kissed…" Hitomi's eyes widened. Takeshi closed his eyes as if to brace for shock. "…a few times…" Hitomi gasped for air, never expecting her innocent brother to be a player.

"Oh my god! And Yuuki just found out? No wonder she slapped you! I want to slap you!" Takeshi sighed once more.

"No…She knows that we didn't study, and that we just goofed off the whole time, but neither me nor Tsumi have told her." Hitomi looked away, almost regretting being nosey about her brother. Takeshi attempted to defend his honor a little. "Look, I was trying to tell her, but she lead off the conversation with a slap and I let my anger word it badly. Even then, I don't know if I regretted it that much. Tsumi, for all intents and purposes, was Yuuki not long ago. She had all her memories, and while she's a lot more frisky, it's more like she's the original Yuuki. Yuuki herself is becoming distant, and constantly making herself train to extreme lengths." Hitomi saddened, but still made eye contact with him. Takeshi let out one final sigh. "I want the Yuuki I used to know back and for us to be friends again. I think I should break it off between us before I hurt our relationship any more than I already have." He saw Hitomi contemplating what to say.

"You're definitely an ass, but at least you're admitting you are at fault. I really always figured you two would hit it off, but a lot has happened. So you still want to be good friends with her though?" she started thinking and nodded. "It's going to take the truth and a very difficult amount of effort, it can still happen I suppose." She smiled warmly and looked up. "That's somewhat relieving right?" Takeshi snapped back into his deal after reading into that reaction.

"That brings me to my question about you." She looked him in the eyes, slightly hesitant at the amount of pure attentiveness about him. _I don't have any basis for it, so either I'm an idiot, or I've got her. _"It was through Tsumi that I remembered something, what you said then, and what you're doing now. You may be true ninja's to the core at deception, but I know now and I want you to tell me once and for all. Why are you lying about you and Isami?" Hitomi choked on her words and felt herself paralyze. Takeshi felt his insides scream at the reaction, but his face held firm. _No freaking way!_

"You remember the curry stain, no? It happened because Yuuki was spying on me when I was spying on you two. I ran into her when you two were coming out of the room. You've been putting on a show to make it out as a rivalry, while secretly you two have been seeing each other for a long time. Also evident by his broken ribs, just like you swore you would do if he tried it in **public**. I guess he did try again after a few years, just like he said."

Hitomi felt her cheeks flush and her hands tighten. "N-No…well…you see."

Takeshi himself was blown away by his impossible outcome panning out. _One more push and I may get my answer. _"It's easier to keep him from trouble when he's in the same house, right? You know, just like mom had bet would happen. So, I'm also curious: Is he the kind of guy that let you fix him, or are you the kind of girl that let him break you?"

She began to lift her hands to her face, as if to hide it from him. "Oh shi-!" a loud knock hit the door, making them both activate their sharingan. Outside, he could hear a familiar voice.

"Yo! Takeshi, let's go, man! It's good to blow off steam before these fights!" Takeshi facepalmed.

"What the? What's Kobi doing here?" He felt a hand quickly push him to the door and slid it over.

"Hello!" Hitomi smiled rather oddly at them. "He's ready to go, you guys have fun! Don't stay out too late, kay?" She shoved Takeshi out the door and slammed it shut. Kobi stood in a hint of shock while Chojiko waved from behind him.

Takeshi sighed and pocketed his hands. Kobi blinked a few times. "Why did she have her sharingan active? You having issues at home, man?" The Uchiha simply walked by him and shook his head with a hint of dread.

"Man, you don't even know the half of it. Where are we headed?"

Chojiko stopped munching and stood tall and proud. "To the steakhouse! Just think of all that juicy meat, waiting for me to devour it! We can't wait any longer, I will have it!" Takeshi pulled himself back in terror. _I hope I don't have to spot him for that bill!_

Kobi smacked him on the back. "Alright then, let's get outta here. Nagi is waiting and I haven't eaten a good meal in a minute." Ripper barked loudly and nudged Takeshi forward as well. "It's a good way to blow off some of that steam, man."

The group of friends departed for the steak house, cracking a few jokes here and there to cheer Takeshi up. Meanwhile, Hitomi was still frozen, back to the door. _Crap…I don't think he's one to talk, but I just totally gave us away. _She pounded the door. "Damn it! What is he, a freaking stenographer?"

OoOoOoOo

An hour had passed, and Yuuki was home again. Isami had helped her through a lot of the pain, and even made her smile. Now he was tidying himself up. Yuuki, even though she blamed herself, couldn't help but think Takeshi had been lying about her and Tsumi. She planned on confronting her sister, but Tsumi had left for a jog. Isami snapped her back into reality.

"Yo, I'll be back later if you need me. I'm going to grab something to eat with Hitomi." He jolted slightly, but recomposed himself, awaiting her response.

Yuuki glared at him. _That's odd. _"Hmm…is Kochi going to be there as well?" Isami looked back to her with a grin.

"Well of course! We are dating, aren't we?" With that, he vanished.

_Doesn't it make more sense to mention the one you're dating first? What an idio-. _Yuuki narrowed her eyes. _Wait a minute. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but he jolted and made it too clear of a point that Kochi was his date. What if…_

A light knock hit the door. "Excuse, this is Inora. Is Yuuki-chan home?" Yuuki checked herself in the mirror to see if her eyes were puffy, but it hadn't been too noticeable. _Alright, act normal._

She opened the door with a glare. _I need to stop overthinking everything. _"You're too formal, you know? And the answer is probably going to be no."

Inora smirked and pulled Yuuki out the door. "Too late, you're outside already."

Yuuki sighed. "What, you're going to kidnap me and not even tell my parents? What's this all about?"

Inora tilted her head. "That's funny. No one is even home to tell, so why would you tell them?"

Yuuki pulled back. "How'd you know that? Then why would you knock on the door like that?"

Inora grew a cat-like smile. "I didn't, you just told me. You're not as sharp as you normally are, huh?" Yuuki looked down, slightly steaming. The victorious girl grabbed her and started walking. "Come on, we're going to Shikamira's for dinner. I think her cousins are over, but Nezero is probably picking fights with her brother's by now."

"I guess I don't have a choice. I need to get out of the house anyways." Inora looked back to her, confused.

"Wow, looks like you had a rough day. You better talk about your relationship issues when we get there." Inora walked in front and held herself strongly. Yuuki couldn't help but look at her in awe. _She's gotten pretty good at noticing things…when did this happen?_

OoOoOoOo

"Woah, that's pretty rough man…" Takeshi had updated everyone on what happened. They sipped on drinks as Chojiko wolfed down more meat, nodding in agreement.

Nagi sighed. "She always was complicated, but even I can tell she's changed a little. The way her family is, I'm sure they can help her bounce back though. They're my cousins, so you'll have to excuse me when I say you messed up. Bad." He shook his head, upset with his friend. "You were right to get this off your chest. At this point, she probably knows there's more. Talk to Tsumi and try to both explain it to her."

Takeshi nodded and everyone fell silent. Ripper whined, and then barked loudly at Kobi. He seemed to agree with his friend and put on a smile. "Man, these are going to be rough fights, huh? Is Datsu as strong as he boasts?"

Takeshi looked to him and nodded. "At first, I would say you could have easily taken him. But I guess I'll give you a tip: he knows how to use shadow clones, he can take a lot of damage, and he knows a ton of water jutsus. He also treats every fight against a guy like a rivalry match. If he knows the trick to shadow clones, there's no telling how much stronger he's gotten."

Kobi visibly sweated. "What's a shadow clone like?" Takeshi fed off his concern and smirked.

"It's quite possibly the most terrifying jutsu ever invented. It takes your shadow, creates a clone of you made of pure evil, and it rips your soul straight from your body. You can't hit it with anything, so death is a certainty!" Kobi's jaw dropped and Ripper ran into the corner with its tail between its legs. Chojiko's food dropped right out of his mouth.

"You two are hopeless." Nagi interrupted Takeshi's laughter with a rare chuckle of his own. "Shadow clones divide the chakra of the user significantly, but it is a physical being that can use all of the user's techniques. It's still not something to take lightly. My little cousin even knows how to use them now, but apparently not as well as Yuuki can." Nagi eyed Takeshi in curiosity as the rest of the group regained their pulses. "Just what is Yuuki capable of with her clones?"

Takeshi laughed and shook his head. "I won't say. She's on my team, after all. I'm sure she'll show everyone in her fights. I even look forward to our fight."

Nagi did some quick thinking and pulled out the brackets. "So, you think you'll meet her in the finals, huh? That means you plan on going through me in the second round?" Takeshi began rubbing his head, laughing nervously. Nagi chuckled. "We'll see. I doubt Akano is going to be a push over, and that Vin guy seems interesting. This should be a good tournament."

"Um…" Chojiko looked to his feet and twiddled his thumbs. Everyone shifted their attention to the fact that he wasn't eating. "I don't know, maybe I should give up before my match. Kaito is just too powerful, and even if I magically win, I'd have to fight Yuuki. I don't like trying to hurt people. My sister's the true ninja…" They grew silent again.

Takeshi nudged him. "Hey, I don't think anyone wants to face Kaito. These fights show more than your ability to hurt others; they show who you are through how you fight." Chojiko glanced at Takeshi. In response, Takeshi looked to his glass. "You've always let people walk on you, Chojiko. Your confidence is pinned on your sister, and you've stopped moving forward. If you ask me, you need to break everyone's perception of you." The fearful teen looked at Takeshi fully now. "You've still never been one to run away from things you see as a problem. Kaito is an embodiment of your fear right now. It's easy for me to say, but you need to push your fear aside and show the strength of your heart! Who cares if you lose, just don't count yourself out before you begin." Takeshi held a fist out, right in front of Chojiko.

With a small, nervous smile he connected his fist with Takeshi's. "Yeah. I'll do my best then. Thanks Takeshi." They all agreed, and continued to joke around about the fights for a few moments. Somehow, Takeshi got stuck paying for Chojiko's food anyways.

OoOoOoOo

"I see his side, but he's definitely hiding something. You gonna confront your sister about it to?" Inora held her fist above her chest with fire in her eyes.

Yuuki shook her head. "No, I don't think so now. I want to, but if there really is something going on, I'd want them to tell me. I don't think we've got much a chance to stay together, but if he doesn't fess up to anything and something did happen…I don't think I'd forgive either one." The table seemed to agree, Kankiri looking away. She was probably annoyed with drama not even from her village. Yuuki grunted and picked at her food. "I don't want to talk about that anyways. Let's change the subject."

Shikamira looked at Inora and smiled. "So, you're fighting a secret admirer in the first match. That's romantic."

Inora spit out her drink and blushed. "There's nothing secret or romantic about fighting some pervert."

The other girls laughed while Yuuki spun her drink around. "You know, I heard 92.7% of perverted ninjas become badass." After a brief moment of stares aimed at her, Yuuki sighed. "Just chapter five of some story I read. Forget it." She drank the rest of her glass and slammed it down. "Nezero isn't a pushover. I only saw the tail end of Kankiri's team fight, but he specifically stated how powerful Nezero was. You have to honor the stats to some extent as well. He is number four."

Kankiri nodded hesitantly in agreement. "He's an annoying cousin, but he has yet to lose. You have the advantage of being a girl, but he's not really much more lenient on them either. You'll have to pin on the hopes that he's going to take you for granted in the first couple minutes." Inora laughed nervously.

Shikamira interrupted now. "I know how we track stats right now. If he beat out Nagi, he's something to be concerned with. I have to admit, I'm more concerned about Kaito." Yuuki nodded. "You saw him, right? Number nine." Inora poked her head in.

"I know, right? I thought he was going to be top three." Yuuki nodded her head to disagree.

"No, I thought he was going to be bottom three. There are a lot of categories stats are calculated in, but there are four that I know he's below average in; chakra, genjutsu, ninjutsu, and tools. That means he's gotten faster, tougher, better with the sword, and smarter. He doesn't even know a single ninjutsu."

Kankiri showed some intrigue in this. "How is it possible for him to not be predictable with that massive sword?"

Inora shook her head now. "That's the scariest part about him. The sword is denser than the standard ones, and it weighs Seven-hundred pounds." Kankiri gave her a funny look. Inora glanced over to Yuuki. "Even worse, he can swing it with his weak hand fairly quickly. The son of a samurai, huh? To score as high as he did on a ninja scale…I get it now."

Kankiri leaned back in intimidation. "I see…and I was worried about making my cousin here look bad."

Shikamira laughed conceitedly. "We've never even fought before! I'm sure you'll be surprised by me as much as I will by you." A strong heat began building between them and the girls ended up having a long night of gossip and fight tactics.

OoOo

The wall crashed open and Nezero landed right next to Inora, giving him a look up her skirt. She gasped.

"What the hell, are you alright?"

Nezero gave her a wink and a thumbs up. "Nice angle!" It didn't take long for a foot to slam into his crouch.

"You trash!" The pain almost seemed to get him more excited.

"Oops. I guess I got a bit rough."

Shikamira rose to her feet and pointed at the wall. "Seriously Tekaku? You guess? How do you think mother is going to react when she sees this?" Tekaku shrugged.

"She'll get over it eventually."

"Oh man…I guess I should cloud watch while I can. I'm going to get yelled at pretty bad for this one." Her oldest brother peeked in the room and left just as quickly.

"Asumaru! Come back and take responsibility for not supervising these two! Why are you idiots always so calm about things?" Shikamira grunted in anger and sat back down, relaxed herself. "Oh well, it's in no way my fault anyway." The other girls sweat dropped at the family reaction. _She changed moods way too quick!_

OoOoOoOo

Three days have gone by, and the group met once more in an awkward atmosphere again. As they walked, Yuuki sighed. "Well, this is déjà vu. Next thing you know, there's going to be that one guy over there." As she pointed sarcastically, someone jolted and ran away screaming yet again. Yuuki withdrew her hand in disbelief. "S…seriously?" She shook off as much frustration as possible. "I'm sorry I haven't been more social with you two. Is there anything you're concerned about in your coming fights that I can help with?"

Takeshi sighed, feeling awkward just asking. "It's fine Yuuki. But what do you think about that Vin guy. He hasn't said anything at all, and he's number five."

Yuuki shot him a quick look, but then looked up in thought. "His chakra levels are lower than yours. As far as what I can tell about his physical features and posture, expect him to be concealing a blade. Also, his clothes are baggier, meaning good for movement. Expect him to be fast and good with taijutsu. Aside from that, he doesn't seem to be carrying many tools. I see his outfit to be deceptive, and mysterious. The black clothes, mask, and silence suggest psyching out his opponents into reacting, rather than fighting smartly. However he leads the battle, I would expect him to be planning on fighting in the opposite way. It's a good way to create an opening." Takeshi couldn't help be show how impressed he was.

"That's…a lot of information. Thanks." She nodded, looking forward again. Takeshi smirked. "I'll see you in the finals, mark my words." At this point, they had reached the arena area. As they walked in, she spoke with a slightly lighter tone.

"You better." Before he could respond, they saw a massive area with thousands of seats.

A loud voice echoed through the stadium. "Team Seven's Uzumaki Yuuki, Uzumaki Tsumi, and Uchiha Takeshi, arriving!" Their hearts pounded in adrenaline at the sight of such an insane amount of guest attending, coupled with the thunderous roar they made.

Yuuki felt herself grow a little anxious. "Dad said the new arena was going to be epic, but holy sh-"

"Hey! finally made it, did you?" The team grew rather excited to find Noriko awaiting them in the combatant section. The team ran up to her as she smirked. "You were expecting me not to come?"

Takeshi put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey stranger! I was starting to worry about you." Yuuki crossed her arms with a smile.

Noriko chuckled. "You guys look a lot stronger. I won't forgive you if you lose in the first round."

Tsumi laughed sarcastically. "You already know that can't happen. Only someone from our team can beat us, right?" Tsumi looked at me with a rather intimidating stare.

"Yo!" Kobi looked in the crowd. "Who are you looking at, Tsumi?" She snapped back into reality and scratched her head.

"No one. He's a reliable information source, that's all." He gave her a suspicious look.

Kobi entertained a second look and still couldn't see who she was talking about. "I'm sure he's the best…" Quickly, he shrugged it off. "Everyone's arrived, I think it's about to start!"

An explosion hit the center of the arena and a familiar voice echoed throughout the stadium. "Yo, yo, yo, yo, yoooooooo!" Isami stood at the center with a tough guy pose and the fans went crazy. Yuuki covered her face in embarrassment. Isami raised a fist in the air and yelled again. "The finals of the chunin exams are about to start! Why is it so quiet?" Again, the crowd burst into a roar. "Please support the stadium by buying some of these epic, portable ramen cups! Now with real ramen inside! It's freaking awesome! Dooooooo it!" The crowd hesitated and clapped awkwardly. However, Isami threw a shuriken at a man getting out of his seat. He barely ducked it in time. Isami threw the ramen on the ground. "Not right now! It's dangerous to not pay attention during ninja fights!" The crowd was confused, but they roared happily about the guy that almost lost his head. "Here's the deal. The combat area changes every match, so each combatant will have to face a new environment every time. However, the center will always be flat and open, if the combatants want to put on a good show. If I deem the round is over, a combatant gives up, or someone dies, the match ends. The one rule of this phase is no mass destruction jutsus that will result in the audience being harmed." Isami winked at Yuuki. "That includes one-hundred foot tidal waves like the one used in the last phase." The audience gasped and cursed. Isami shot his hand up. "Don't be mad! Let it be a testament to how much skill these fighters are capable of. Why am I still talking? Get the first two fighters out here!"

Kaito calmly walked out and Chojiko tensed up with his eyes closed. He took a few steps forward as Takeshi caught up with him. "Hey, are you sure about this?" Chojiko looked towards Takeshi and nodded with a smile.

"You're right, after all. I've got to give it my all and know that I can stand up against my fears. I'm going." Chojiko made his way to the center as the match up appeared on the screen. The audience silenced immediately.

Kaito pointed his sword at Chojiko and opened his eyes. With a sinister grin, he began antagonizing him. "You're worthless trash. Get out of my sight before I kill you in front of your friends!" Chojiko closed his eyes again and shook. _Calm down. Breathe. Inora said he might try to scare me out of this._ Kaito smirked. "Oh? Are you trying to imagine I'm not here anymore?" Kaito laughed. "All the same to me."

Isami looked between them. _Meh, this will be more than I thought, but still pretty quick. _"First match: Kaito, rank nine, vs. Chojiko, rank fifteen." Isami vanished. "Begin!"

-End-

lol

**-A/N-**

There you go, 16 chapters down. Before you rage on about Yuuki and Takeshi's relationship crumble, take it from me. I had a rough breakup because my girlfriend cheated on me (not recently). I'm incorporating our feelings and reactions from both sides, but tweaking things due to it being the boyfriend cheating in this story. Yes, most people will say kissing is a form of cheating. Some people can make it work, but usually it doesn't happen. Those are just my two cents. Now, I'm going to give this chapter preview thing a shot!

-Chapter 17 Preview: Chojiko's Heart-

His vision blurred as he gasped for breath. Struggling to his feet, his opponent let out a loud cackle. "Don't you see it yet? I am all that is man, and you are just a fat coward. Wait, I guess if you're standing, I'll just call you a fat idiot." Kaito pulled out an explosive tag and a steak. "I bet you love steak, don't you?" With a laugh, he chucked the steak into the air.

Chojiko's eyes widened. "Kaito, no!" With an explosion, the delicious meat was disintegrated. Chojiko tensed up gritting his teeth. "I…won't…forgive you!" Kaito ceased his laughing as he felt his opponent's chakra level rising.

"This power…"

"KAITO!" With a scream, Kaito's sword shattered. Chojiko turned blonde and thin, flying into the air. As he lifted his arms, a small ball of chakra appeared.

Kaito looked back to Isami. "Isami…what's the stat card say about his chakra level?"

Isami looked away, crushing the stat card and yelling, "IT'S OVER 9,000!"

"What, 9,000? There's no way that can be right!" Kaito's face deadpanned. "No really, the stat cards only go to fif-" Isami cuts him off with a shadow clone disperse to the face.

Isami reappears and whispers to Kaito. "Actually, the author says it's only five…" Kaito looks back up.

"This is for the steak!" The ball had become the size of the moon.

Kaito backed up. "Fool! You can't use that, it's against the rules!"

Chojiko sneered. "Screw the rules, I'm a super ninja! Soul bomb!"

Kaito braced himself for his inevitable demise. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

-End preview-

JK, I've been up late, and this is a thought I had when writing the actual fight :p. Is this an indication of sleep deprivation? Anyways, if you guys like this, want a real preview, or a summary before the next chapter, let me know! By the way…100k words, 200 pages now w00t!1!*shoots self*


	17. The First Round

**A/N**

Yo, glad I could get this chapter out sooner than I expected. This chapter is going to be a douse. Seven fights, my friends. Later, I'll let you know exactly how I set up my tournament. To be honest, It took a shit ton of planning, as I make my fights pan out realistically. (I think so anyways.) All the character moves and fighting styles have been perceived for months by the way.

**Chapter 17: The First Round**

-Match One: Chojiko's Heart-

"Not going to move? Very well." Chojiko's eyes jolted open and dodged the incoming attack. Kaito smirked, using the opening to blast his foe away with a sturdy punch. Chojiko slid a few feet when he hit the ground near the edge of a tree line.

_Just what have I been doing all this time? _He pushed himself back up, making eye contact with Kaito. "I admit it: The only reason I've gotten this far is my team. I'm slow, I suck at ninjutsu, and I've skated by being a coward this entire time. Even if I have to let down the crowd with a pointless match, I'm going to attack you with what I've got. I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore!" Kaito closed his eyes and nodded. Chojiko used an expansion jutsu and curled into a fast spinning ball. "Errahhh!"

Kaito shifted to the blunt end of his sword and smiled. "That's what I wanted to hear!" As the ball came in striking range, Kaito began a swing. Before it hit, the ball shifted to his right in a circular motion._ Not bad._ Kaito threw another swing at him. However, this time the ball shrunk before impact, only to rapidly expand after his attack followed through. Kaito braced himself behind his blade and halted the attack. Chojiko broke out of his spin with a wild punch. _I've seen enough. _Kaito drifted behind the slow attack and chuckled. "So you're a ninja after all…" With a single blow, Chojiko was knocked out. Kaito lifted his sword in a threatening posture, triggering Isami to take his sword with his right hand.

He leaned next to Kaito."Good job Kaito. I see what you did there." Isami raised the massive sword in the air and yelled, "The winner is Kaito from the Village Hidden in the Rivers! Give Chojiko a hand for not running away from this seven-hundred pound sword!" The seemingly dead crowd did as he asked and more after realizing how skilled Kaito was with the massive blade.

Kaito nudged Isami. "Can I have my sword back?" He laughed and did as the swordsman asked.

Chojiko rolled up and sighed. "You weren't trying very hard, were you? You could have knocked me out a lot longer than that…" Kaito helped him to his feet and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, and I also could have shattered your spine. Would you like me to fix that?" Chojiko laughed nervously before bolting to the combatant box. Kaito tilted his head in confusion.

-Match Two: Fleas or the Fox-

Isami cut the chatter and boomed his voice again. "Enough! Match two will be as follows." He directed the audience's attention to the ramen stand. He snickered. "I just wanted to see if you'd listen. The screen over there is the next match. Uzumaki Tsumi, rank two, VS. Aburame Shitto, rank fourteen!" The crowd showed a bit of disappointment in the match up, but clapped anyway.

"Here we go! I'll be right back!" As she leapt over the fence everyone started looking for Shitto.

Yuuki leaned over to Nagi. "Hey, where's he at?" Nagi shrugged, not noticing him all day.

"What's this? No one can seem to find Shitto!" Isami searched around, only to feel a poke. Chills ran down everyone's spine as he was there the whole time. Isami laughed. "There he is! Shitto, any thoughts before the match?"

Isami let Shitto have his mic for a minute. "Everyone forgets about me…Even the author forgets me. Why didn't I get invited to the steakhouse?" Isami took his mic back and laughed heartily.

"That's the spirit! Let's see what you guys can do. Begin!" The arena suddenly became barren and cracked open chunks of earth. The crowd showed their awe.

Tsumi began stretching before getting into an attack stance. Shitto remained still. "Aww, you're no fun at all. Fine, I guess I'll lead." With a quick pounce that shocked him, Tsumi was in the fray and starts throwing wild, but simple attacks after him.

"That idiot." Yuuki shook her head at her sister. Takeshi leaned over to hear Yuuki talk to herself. "I told not to play around with these fights." Takeshi thought to himself. _But I haven't seen her do anymore than what she's doing, besides byakugan…_

After a few blows had connected, Shitto bounced away from her. She smirked, almost upset. "What's wrong giving up already?" A few bugs flew by her face that wouldn't go away when she blew at them. She tilted her head. "Oh yeah, Your Shitto. You use bugs to drain chakra…" She looked down to see a mass horde of bugs at her feet. "I never liked bugs…" With that said, she became engulfed in a mass of bugs. Everyone but Yuuki and Nagi dropped their jaws.

"No way, she's supposed to be number two! Shitto really won already?"

"You shouldn't forget about people. Why? Because you take details about that person for granted." After an above average chakra pool would have been drained, he turned to the judge box, where Isami was sitting there, staring in space. _Damn it. Why? Because she's his sister, and he knows she's not done. _

"RRRRAAWWR!" Shitto looked back in shock. "Heavenly spin: Lightning rotation!" Within an instant, a sphere of hissing lightning dissolved the bugs.

"Nice one Tsumi!" Yuuki cheered. Everyone else was dumbfounded. The ones most shocked were Nagi, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi. A similar thought raced across their minds. _Why didn't we even think of that?_

"Stupid bugs! Stupid Shitto! You got me in the mood, so you better take responsibility." She flashed a few meters from him quickly, but stopped short. _Shit. Why? Because she's way faster-_ "Empty palm thrust!" Shitto was blasted into the air, before he could register his feet lifting off the ground, Tsumi was already behind him with a high launching kick. As he reached about twenty feet up, she thrust off the ground and almost instantly intercepted him like a spear. Her arms made an X as her forearms rested on his neck.

"Woah, she's really going to kill him, man!" Kobi pointed out of concern and the crowd held their breath. Isami prepared himself. _If she's really angry…and I'm not sure how much like the Kyuubi her instincts are…_

Tsumi smiled as the neared the ground. "Just kidding, bugs aren't all that bad." She shoved him hard towards the ground and rolled the impact off herself. Shitto was a little less fortunate. With the full force of his momentum, he slammed the ground with a grunt.

Isami appeared before them and assessed Shitto closely with a quick medical ninjutsu. "It's over, Shitto is out cold. The winner of this match is Uzumaki Tsumi!" The crowd burst into a cheer as Tsumi posed out a victory stance. The combatants box itself found themselves cheering to.

"Hey, I guess she's pretty good after all. I think she's faster than you, man." Kobi nudged Nagi and Ripper barked in agreement. Nagi himself clapped, intrigued. _Interesting. Yuuki didn't seem fazed by that elemental heavenly spin either…_

-Match Three: Cousins Clash-

After a brief moment, the battle field was cleared and the terrain shifted once again. Now, it became a rolling plane with a couple of trees scattered around. Isami showed himself again and pumped his fist. "Oh yeah, match three of seven is about to begin! Who will win in a match between cousins? Kankiri, rank seven, VS. Shikamira, rank ten!" The two took center and sized each other up. Both of them lightened the mood on their face. "Begin!"

As they jumped into their stances, they froze. Shikamira used her crouching fan's stance and Kankiri started with her hand on her ninja tools. Nezero crossed his arms. "I'm rooting for my cousin on this one." The group shook their head.

In one instant, they began. Shikamira charged and Kankiri jumped back, releasing a flurry of shuriken. Shikamira waved her chakra fan and changed their path to avoid them while still charging. Kankiri smiled as she twitched her left hands fingers and threw a kunai with her right hand. _That's your game! _Shikamira rolled to the side and parried the previous shurikens to the ground. _Controlling shurikens with chakra strings. Taking after he father, I see._

"Ha!" Kankiri summoned a pair of puppets with the opening she was given. The puppets of her choice were a salamander and spider combination. At this, Shikamira retreated to a tree with high ground. _Gotta think quickly. Both of these carry a toxin of sorts no doubt. The antidote of which would likely be on her person. Futhermore, it's useless to double poison a foe, so one probably is for paralysis. I assume the salamander would be that one, as it looks a bit more capable of firing of gas over an area. She chose a spider for mobility, in case the salamander fails. I got this one. _Shikamira judged the distance was too far, so she openly charged once more.

"That the best you can do, fool?" Kankiri smirked with an angry tone, moving her left fingers. Shikamira looked at the salamander on her cousins right. _Diversionary tactic. It's likely she crossed the wires. Meaning…_ Shikamira leapt over the spider as it attacked, opening her second fan. Explosive tags shot out and made quick work of the puppet. She landed with her hands already in a seal. _And now…_ Kankiri watched as Shikamira stretched her shadow ten feet shy of Kankiri. Her eyes widened. "No way! I was certain it would reach!"

Kankiri laughed haughtily. "I never expected you to mess up like that. Don't worry; I'm only going to paralyze you for it." With a flick of her finger smoke began pouring out of the salamander. However, the gas went straight for Kankiri. She couldn't even curse before her body fell to the floor. Shikamira released her second shadow with a smile.

"I didn't think you would mess up like that either. Puppets aren't out of my shadow's realm." Isami appeared before them and checked Kankiri. "The antidote is probably in that pocket she couldn't quite reach. Sure enough, Isami pulled it out.

"The winner of match three is..." With a violent injection to Kankiri's chest, Isami screamed, "Shikamira!" The crowd screamed and hollered at the unnecessary violence and fight they watched.

Kankiri shot up and smacked him. "What the hell did you stab me for?"

Isami eyed her with a straight face and a calm voice. "It's ok. I'm a doctor." He winked before disappearing again.

Nagi met Shikamira as she returned. "Not bad as usual. I almost believed you'd made a miscalculation." Shikamira scoffed, pushing him aside.

"You talk big now, but I plan on winning this thing." Shikamira looked up at the next two matches ahead. _If I even manage to beat Tsumi, I'll have to face Kaito or Yuuki the next round. Damn. I hope my calculations are wrong._

-Match Four: Actions Over Words-

The arena changed into a lake. Isami signaled the next combatants. Yuuki glanced at Takeshi. "Good luck." He shook his head and jumped onto the lack. _This is trippy. _"Alright, the water level! That's fun, right?" The crowd went to scream, but Isami cut them off. "Rhetorical question! Of course it's awesome! match four, begin!"

Takeshi dodged the shurikens, activating his sharingan. _Distance, he's backing up. So if I charge him like this…_zipped close to Vin at a far faster rate than he was ready for, but he drew his blade in an attack. _Just like she said. Now all that's left is to get him down before I see what else he can do. _Takeshi effortlessly danced around Vins attacks, but struggled to find an opening. Takeshi took out his kunai and began parrying for a better angle. _There!_

Takeshi swung his body and double round house kicked his sword out of his hand and Vin's chest. The sword sank, and Vin just turned his head to the Uchiha. "Interesting." Before Takeshi could react to him speaking, Vin took the opening and attacked with an odd martial arts. It seemed as the attacks would turn into grapple techniques, making you have to double defencive effort. Moreover, it was heavily influenced by how agile you could move your legs. Takeshi tracked as the man kneed at Takeshi's left side. As Takeshi blocked, the knee pointed down and a kick whiffed by his face, resting on his right shoulder. _Where's the grab? _His left arm barely reached up as the man spun his body and attempted to strike with his left heel. _Damn. _Takeshi could hear Vin forming a jutsu and knew there was no conventional way left to block it. Takeshi smirked. _This ought to be a good time to get my opening._ "Suiton: Suishouha!" A massive ball of water appeared high in the air and began to drop on them. However, Takeshi let the chakra out of his feet and sank under the water. Vin was smashed by the massive orb.

The side lines stood still waiting for someone to rise. Yuuki bit her nails, knowing he should have gotten away from the danger. Underwater, things were a different story.

_Suiton: Suishi no Jutsu! _Vin had quickly recovered, seeing Takeshi attempt to surface. The Jutsu he made created a whirlpool that started taking Takeshi down.

_Damn. This guy's tough. But it's not like I haven't been learning combat scenarios for nothing. _Takeshi made a few hand seals. _Fuuton: Reppushou! _As Takeshi utilized a powerful jet of wind, he bolted a kunai into it. As it traveled through the air bubble, it's speed was far faster than one underwater should ever achieve. Vin could not move himself quick enough, and the tool nailed him in the left thigh. Air bubbles rose to the top, along with his blood. _I've got the momentum somehow. How about I make it rain oil?_ _Suiton: Kokuun!_ Now Takeshi focused on escaping the whirlpool. _Suiton: Suichuu Teigen no Jutsu! _With the chakra assisted underwater movement jutsu, Takeshi managed to break out of the average whirlpool jutsu and shoot up towards the surface. Vin was escaping to the surface. _Good, I'm out of ideas down here anyways._

OoOo

Everyone who couldn't see what was happening were becoming very tense. It had been a minute and no one had surfaced. Suddenly, blood mixed with air bubbles began to surface. Inora ran over to Yuuki. Just as she did, black clouds began raining oil over the blood. "Yuuki, is Takeshi alright?

As she confirmed Takeshi was able to get out of the whirlpool, she turned to Inora with a smile. "Takeshi's actually won the underwater battle." Inora smiled back, turning toward the battle field.

Vin surfaced, gasping for air and getting above water. It was then that he'd realized he was standing in oil. However, with that one opening, Takeshi was behind him. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Vin jumped to the side, landing on his left leg. _Damn. _As the mass of oil blazed the surface, Vin managed to focus and side step Takeshi's superman punch. _This is it, Uchiha!_ Vin began making dozens of hand signs.

Nezero winced at Vin. "That's not going to bode well for the Uchiha if he gets it off. On top of that, he only has a moment to stop him. As everyone tensed up, Inora looked over to Yuuki, who walked over to a seat and sat down.

"Oh, come on! I know I'm not the only one who saw that…It's Takeshi's win."

Nezero looked back to Yuuki, confused. "What?" Yuuki pointed to the fight.

Takeshi staggered on the water, but raced after him. _Come on! That jutsu can't be good news._ Right as the man finished, three kunai struck his shoulder. As he reacted to it, Takeshi was instantly crashing his knee into Vin's face. The man was launched back, barely able to slide and catch himself on the water. As he used his good arm to fire a kunai at Takeshi. To his shock, it hit. Or so everyone thought. The kunai actually went right through the kawarimi and Takeshi gripped a kunai to Vin's throat. His other hand was on Vin's shoulder, using cakra to stick to him. Vin rose his better hand. "I give."

Isami jumped in and slapped Takeshi hard on the back. "How bout that, folks? A submission victory. Let's see how those kunai ended up in Vin's shoulder." The footage rewound to when Takeshi was rising out of the water. "You can see here, Takeshi has injured Vin's left thigh. Takeshi correctly sees Vin turning, and so, he uses the oil and fireball as his _distraction._ Vin uses his good right leg to jump left, is distracted by the pain of his left thigh, Takeshi's reckless punch, and attempts to punish Takeshi for the opening with a jutsu I don't even recognize. Looks like it was finished, but as he goes to use it…Boom!"

The crowd grew restless and wild, rooting for the young Uchiha. The arena became level, and Vin was even given his sword back. The two opponents departed to the combatant area and both sat down and sighed. Yuuki kicked Takeshi's foot and shook her head.

"That jutsu he was going to use would have been bad news. Be a more careful with your bait windows next time." She turned around and stared on. Takeshi shook his head in disappointment. "Just kidding. That's was a pretty cool fight. You've gotten faster and smarter." She never turned around but Takeshi could at least smile.

Kobi pounded Takeshi's fist and Ripper licked him. Tsumi joined in a small compliment, but focused more on aggressively playing with Ripper. Yuuki noticed the reaction. _Doesn't seem like they have anything going on between them…It looks like Tsumi is actually targeting Kobi._ Yuuki shook off her head. _Nah, no way anyone would like Kobi._

-Match Five: A Gentlemen's Match-

"Go for it, Bakano!" Datsu slapped him in the back, making him almost lose composure.

"Datsu, refrain from interpolating an unnecessary consonance on my name. And go die." Datsu snickered as Akano stepped into the center of the ring. Isami waved him in, so Nagi followed suit. The crowd silenced as the arena changed into a narrow corridor. Both Nagi and Akano seemed amused by the circumstances.

Isami spoke quickly. "The fifth match is between Nagi, rank six, VS. Akano, rank thirteenth. Begin!"

Nagi instantly got in his stance with the byakugan active. Akano dipped down, sweating. "So, you've got strange eyes as well. I wonder if I'm capable."

Nagi smirked. "I will be so bold as to ask you to surrender before you regret it."

Akano gave him a matching smirk. "I must apologize. My honor prevents me from making such choices. Let us continue."

Nagi wasted no time zipping to him and using gentle fist. Akano reacted well, parrying his foe and jumping to the wall, kicking down at him. "Heavenly spin!" Nagi blasted Akano back against the wall as Akano fluctuated his chakra movement. Nagi became confused, anticipating a kick, but took a head-butt instead. Nagi backed up and reassessed Akano. _Chakra in the ears, chakra in his feet, and from what I can tell, a sensory ninja. Not bad. _

Nagi rolled out a scroll and summoned a mass of ninja tools. Akano deadpanned. "Wasn't expecting that…" Nagi smirked running up and down the walls, rapidly hitting his target are at varying angles. _He's too fast, and there are too many tools. I have to close in on him. But then there's the gentle fist techniques. I've only seen a fraction of what it can do. Damn. _Akano parried what he could and jumped up after him. As he did, Nagi was suddenly behind him. "Shit!" As he turned, a weak explosive tag detonated to blast him backwards. Now, the danger was behind him again.

"Empty palm thrust!" Akano felt his like his back was being torn to shreds, but now Nagi was inside the smoke of the explosive tag awaiting Akano's body. _Ridiculous. People with different eyes are too strong. _"Eight trigrams, sixty four palms!" Yuuki watched carefully as he hit his target masterfully. As the smoke cleared, Nagi stood and Akano lay limp.

Akano looked up towards Nagi. "If it's any consolation, I'll surrender to you now."

After a slight examination, Isami raised his hand. "With overwhelming speed, Nagi is the victor!" The crowd applauded Akano's ability to hit a member of the Hyuuga clan, and were shocked to see a byakugan user use so many ninja tools so effectively.

Datsu began sweating. "Damn, that guy's legit. Akano needs to start listening to us more though. Ninjutsu's would have helped in that fight."

The arena transformed into a perfectly flat plane. Isami assisted Akano onto his feet and escorted him to his team. Akano avoided eye contact, but Datsu just put a hand on his shoulder. "If I get to fight him, I'll hit him with a water jutsu for you." Akano nodded.

-Match Six: Match Made In Heaven?-

"Alright, two more matches left in the first round! How's everyone feeling?" Isami pointed the mic up and the guest cheered once more. "In the first round, her brother showed how strong his courage was, but still could not achieve victory. Will Inora be able to overcome the son of the Kazekage?" Nezero blew a kiss at Inora, which she swatted at. The two stepped forward and stood by Isami. "Match six! Inora, rank eleven, VS. Nezero, rank four. Let's go!"

Nezero put a hand up to stop Inora. "Before we start, how's about we make this interesting. If I win, you have to go on a date with me."

Her face flushed and her eyes narrowed. "No way!" After a quick thought, she smirked. "How about if I win, you're never allowed to say that again?"

Nezero grinned. "I accept. Looks like we have a wager." Inora pulled back. _I didn't mean it like…_ "Enough! Time to fight!" Nezero made a few seals. "Fuuton: Reppushou!" A strong gust launched at Inora, who had already began a jutsu of her own.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Nezero panicked as his jutsu was consumed and formed a few seals.

"Crap, crap crap, Doton: Tsuchi Kairo!" a massive dome surrounded him and blocked the incoming flames.

The combatant group had been fairly impressed, Yuuki included. "I guess she really has been training after all."

Inora observed the lack of action inside the dome. _Is he going to go anywhere with that, or hide? Earth and wind, huh?_ She reached in her pocket, waiting for something. Her eyes shifted down. _Below!_ She leaped forward, avoiding an upper cut from underground. In the air, she spun and threw poisonous flowers. "Can't block these!" _Give me another wind jutsu…_

Nezero turned and formed hand seals once more. _Tsk. This kind of game, huh? _"Fuuton: Reppushou!"

_Bingo! _Just as he used his wind jutsu, three flame balls had already headed his way. "Katon: Gouenka!"

"Oh shi-" The fire balls combined into one massive one that engulfed the floor in a blaze. A smoke covered the area as she landed in wait. _Hope I didn't kill him._

OoOo

Takeshi walked over to Shikmira and nudged her. "Hey, she wasn't nearly this good before. That was a B-ranked ninjutsu! What have you guys been doing?"

Shikamira laughed. "I told you, we're taking our training more serious than anyone." She shifted her eyes between Takeshi and Yuuki. "Ok, maybe not more than Team Seven. I've got to admit, I'm not sure I could even beat Inora. She's even innovated a few things within her clans that she's been working on before the academy."

Takeshi looked back at her in a new light. "No kidding? Is she really the same Inora?" Nagi walked up next to Takeshi.

"I've seen it recently also. Inora's chakra pool is greater than yours, and highest out of the normal genin. Well…Yuuki and Tsumi aren't normal to me anymore." Nagi laughed and Takeshi's jaw dropped. _Seriously? I'm starting to worry about this one…_

Datsu began nodding next to Takeshi. "I see…not bad for a minor character." The group stared at him like he was an idiot.

OoOo

Moans were heard and Nezero was revealed to be covered in burns. Inora got closer, almost worried. "Hey, you can't be serious, right?" She carefully observed, finding the situation a bit outlandish. _There's no shadow! _On a whim, she dipped back, just dodging an uppercut once more. This time, she tightened her fist. Nezero was dumbfounded that his strategy didn't work. With her whole body, she jabbed him several feet back. The audience went wild.

"Damn it!" Nezero punched the ground and looked back up to her with a grin. "You're way stronger than you look, babe!" Inora grinned with anger boiling. _There he goes with that weird attitude. Is he a masochist? _She raced at him and he formed a few hand seals. "Doton: Doryuu Kekai!" A greater than average fissure opened in front of him that made Inora leap after him.

"Nice try!" Nezero blocked her superman punch, also dipping to barely avoid her other fist. _She's pretty quick, but I should have the edge here. _He clinched his fist and struck her in the midriff, also tossing her over him. As she landed, he pressed his attack. _I'll lead with a kick! _As he squared up to kick high, she bent forward and placed her hands on the floor. _What? _Inora kicked her feet up and smashed him in the face. Using her momentum and his back step, she flipped up. She proceeded to double kick his face and come down with a right hook. However, Nezero managed to catch her fist with a creepy laugh.

"Yes! That's it, keep it up!" Inora dropped her jaw with a blush. _He really is a masochist! _With his right fist, he punched her square in the jaw, round house kicked her back and finished a series of hand seals. "Doton No Jutsu!" A large piece of the stage slammed her mid-air and launched her far. Nezero crossed his arms, licking the blood from his nose. "I will have that date after all!" The audience winced in pain at the combo as Inora came to a halt, barely conscience and gasping for breath.

OoOo

"Man that was a good fight! I figured Inora was about to run a train with that kick combo, too. A little more work and she won't leave many openings, huh?" Takeshi eyed Shikamira, who was biting her nails.

"She's not the best at taking hits…Hopefully she can get back up and finish this fight." Takeshi pulled back, looking over at Yuuki. She was pretty intently watching with her byakugan, so he went to investigate.

"Hey…what are you thinking about? There's no way she can do anything in that condition, can she?" Yuuki swatted at him.

"Just look, I don't know…something weird is happening with Inora's chakra. I wish you could see this." Takeshi looked back for a second look.

OoOo

_Ugh, can't take to much more of that…I've got to get up and show everyone what I can do. _Inora forced herself to her knees, and eventually to her feet. Nezero squirmed in enjoyment.

"YES! I think I love you!" His joy dropped a little as he saw something peculiar.

"Then..I hope you won't mind if I get serious?" Suddenly, a visible chakra exploded around her. Nezero backed up. _That's not something you see every day…_ Now, the chakra began compacting into wings that resembled a butterfly's. Inora looked up to him with a grin. "Sorry, I ate a ten-thousand calorie bar before we got here! If you enjoy pain, I'm going to make sure you die happy!" Inora began to laugh excitedly. Everyone but Team Eight stared in shock.

Nezero formed hand seals. "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" _I gotta get underground too. _Nezero formed a thick wall of earth, but shit himself when Inora exploded through it in one punch and hit him square in the solar plexus. Following it up, she grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face several times in the ground.

Inora looked down to him with an amused face, almost as excited as he was before he was demolished. Nezero rolled over, vomiting blood. His arms sprawled out as he began losing vision. However, he pushed himself to hold his right hand up. "I may enjoy pain, but…I think you…like dishing it out just as much." He laughed through the pain. "You'd make a good dominatrix! And by the way…" Inora 's face was red, but she let him continue. His hand hovered as he observed the butterfly wings matched with the view up her skirt. His hand formed thumbs up. "Nice angle!"

Inora's screamed as she cocked her foot up high. "Time to die, pervert masochist!" Nezero managed to form the best rock cushion over his groin as possible before she obliterated it. A loud scream was let out that eventually turned into an excited laugh. Every guy in the stadium covered themselves and cringed. The laughs became infrequent until he finally passed out. Garra facepalmed.

Isami showed up, but covered himself just in case. "Upset of the day! Inora Akamichi Has triumphed over Nezero!" The crowd showed their full life as an earthquake of applause and cheers could be heard. Inora blushed, waving to her parents before returning to the combatant area. Isami quickly disappeared with Nezero to heal him.

"Way to go Inora! That was awesome!" Shikamira high-fived her teammate and everyone came in to congratulate her. After a while of compliments, Inora sat down and grunted. _I'm soo tired…and hungry now…_

-Match Seven: The Idiot's Championship Match-

Kobi coughed really loud next to Tsumi. "Well, looks like I'm next. You know, I could die out there." _Yeah, this should get her attention. _

Tsumi turned to him and shrugged. "Well, we don't all live long. Good luck in the great beyond!" Kobi's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped. _She really does hate me, man!_ Ripper nodded in agreement.

The stage switched to a wintery wonder land. Datsu jumped to the center and began pumping his fist. "Yes! It's finally my turn to fight!" Kobi sheepishly walked up to the middle with Ripper. Datsu pointed at Kobi. "Hey, are they really allowed to bring animals into combat?"

Kobi laughed haughtily. "Of course we are. I warn you though, Ripper here better not be seen as a mere 'animal!', man. Isn't that right, Ripper?" Ripper barked excitedly while fire ignited in Datsu's eyes and pointed even harder.

"I wasn't talking about Ripper!"

Kobi pointed to himself. "Me? But I'm not an-…" His eyes shot open as he finally caught on. Kobi gritted his teeth and stared at the troll. _He really does treat every match like a rivalry, doesn't he?_ "Alright idiot, I'm going to rip you apart for that one, man!"

Isami appeared in the center. " ." Isami vanished before anyone could comprehend he was there. The audience and combatants both tried to decipher exactly what he had just said. However, Kobi assumed that loud gibberish meant go, so he started off with a charge.

Datsu prepared himself. "I accept your punching contest!" Kobi blasted Datsu cleanly in the face, but Datsu refused to budge. "My turn!"

Datsu proceeded to punch Kobi in the face, in which he refused to budge. Kobi grinned. "Ok, I get it. My turn!" Again, he punched Datsu in the face. Ripper tilted his head in confusion. They traded blows faster and faster, until they were each getting off a good four punches per second.

Everyone who observed the idiocracy was speechless, aside from the waking Nezero who wishes he would have thought of that. After a good minute, everyone's jaws had dropped. Yuuki was hiding her face in embarrassment of even knowing them. The crowd began cheering, some letting out laughs. Finally, ripper growled and bit Kobi in the behind.

"AHHHH!" Datsu stopped after not getting punched with a grin. _Looks like I win another game. I'm so awesome. _Kobi glared at Ripper. "Bad dog! Bad! I would have had him, too." Kobi looked back to Datsu. "Alright, best two out of three. This time I pick." Datsu nodded his head in agreement. Kobi thought for a very long time. Ripper barked. Kobi agreed. "Cool, man. Now we're going to do mobile taijutsu until someone hits the ground. Ready?"

Datsu put on a tough guy face and nodded. "I accept! No more turn by turn engine either! They're out-dated!" Datsu used kage bunshin to produce five clones. Kobi, on the other hand, got on all fours.

"Let's see what those 'shadow clowns' can do!" Kobi and Ripper began spinning insanely fast.

Datsu pumped his fist in anger. "Not clowns, clones! Quit making typos and making them work as an insult!" Before anyone could figure out what he was talking about, Kobi charged at an impressive speed and began wreaking Datsu's clones.

"Fang over fang!" Kobi and Ripper spiraled around each other and headed straight for Datsu.

Datsu cocked his fist back and charged the duo. "I will not back down!" At this point, everyone was covering their faces. Datsu's fist was knocked upwards and his body was slammed by the fang over fang. It began to push him several meters over a frozen pond before the duo let up, landing in the snow. Datsu was covered in blood and scratches, but somehow didn't go down. The witnesses showed him a bit of respect for that. Datsu himself inhaled and grinned. "Ha! I just have to hit you next time, that's all." Datsu went to take a step, slipped on the ice, and fell on his ass. The crowd started laughing, even some cheering now.

Kobi himself stood tall. "Aha! I win this one. Tie game." Datsu cursed under his breath and got up.

With an extended ponder he pounded his fist into his palm. "I got it, the perfect tie breaker. Here's the rules: Anything goes, and whoever gives up, loses consciousness, or isn't the main character loses. Sound fair?"

Yuuki was smashing her head against the wall. "Idiots…those are the original rules in the first place! And shut up about that 'main character' nonsense! This is the real world!"

Kobi completely disregarded Yuuki's yells and agreed. "That's genius! We already know I'm the main character. I'm stupid, powerful, and the underdog. Perfect main character traits! Let's just beat each other up!"

Datsu formed ten shadow clones. "Excellent!" Ripper barked at Kobi, making him pay attention to Datsu's hand seals. _Crap… _"Kirigakure No Jutsu! Suiton: Chakra Kenpa No Ame!" As a mist coated the area, rain began to pour down.

Kobi tried to squint his eyes. "Damn it. This rain and thick mist is making it impossible to track him. I need to…throw a smoke bomb? No, that's not right, man." As Kobi contemplated what to do, another clone prepared the next jutsu. "That's it! I should listen really hard and keep moving!"

"Suiton: Mizuame Nababara!" Before Kobi and Ripper had a chance to move, their feet were cemented to the floor. The mist cleared away.

Upon clearing, Kobi and the rest of the crowd could see his predicament: about fifteen Datsu's standing around him in a circle, all making hand seals. His face deadpanned. "Fucking shadow clowns, man." He covered his face and his crotch. Everyone else covered their eyes.

"Rapid water's Suiton: Taihoudan!" Kobi was barraged by dozens of water bullets that would make even a jonin cringe. After the assault was halted, everyone was shocked to see Kobi still conscience. Ripper shook himself off, not actually being targeted by any of the nasty jutsus.

Kobi raised a hand, slouched over and not very happy. "I didn't want to be the main character anyways…I give up, man."

Isami showed up with a cup of ramen in hand and pointed to Datsu. "Kobi has given up, realizing his idiocracy powers are hopeless compared to Datsu. The winner of this odd bout is Datsu from the Village Hidden in the Rivers!" Datsu pumped his fist and showboated for as long as possible. Isami swiftly teleported him to the combatant area. Now, Isami slurped down the rest of the ramen. "This concludes round one of the final exam. Win or lose, we know how these genin got here. I trust it was a good time?" Isami pointed the mic into air and the audience showed their support. As they died down, he returned the mic to him. "At this time, there will be a one hour intermission. Use this time for important things, like using the bathroom, or buying some delicious ramen in a cup." The audience was silent, and Isami's eyes went crazy. He launched a kunai at the same unlucky guest as earlier. The man screamed and cried in fear. "DOOOO IIIIIITTT!" He gave the still trapped Kobi the turned off mic and vanished. All the fighters headed to the break room and Kobi was left alone.

His eyes bulged out and he screamed into the mic. "Hey, you've got to be kidding me, man! You can't just leave me here!" To his surprise, Tsumi came over to him. "Oh thank god. You've come to help me?"

Tsumi gave him a quick look. "You know the mics off, right?" Kobi shot his eyes to the off switch and threw it in anger. She blew him off and helped Ripper out of the glue. "There you go, Ripper. Is your master getting you into absurd situations again?" Ripper barked happily and licked her. He proceeded to head for the break room. Tsumi stood up and walked back as well.

"Ripper! How could you betray me again?" Kobi sagged down, feeling the fatigue get to him.

Tsumi turned around and made hand seals. "This might sting a little." Kobi's pupils narrowed. "Katon: Komakai Kaki." A small fireball struck his legs and melted the glue. Kobi jumped out screaming and landed in the snow.

"Are you crazy? Why did Ripper get the easy way out?" Tsumi was laughing at him as he sulked in the snow.

"Because it's funnier this way." His face deadpanned before he got up and then turned to a somber tone.

"You know, I wish I could have fought as awesomely as you did. I'm just really not that smart, man." He put his hands in his pockets and headed to the break room.

Tsumi ceased her laughing and caught up to him. "Hey, don't get all butt hurt about losing. I really liked that fight. No one can say you're not tough. I mean, you took like a four-hundred hits to the face and about thirty c-rank jutsus. It was an entertaining match."

Kobi eyed her suspiciously, and then stuck his nose in the air. "Yeah, well I'm still not smart enough."

Tsumi stepped on his foot and glared at him. "Then just get smarter!"

He returned her glare. "You think I can just magically do that? I just can't focus on boring things, man."

Tsumi shook her head. "Not all learning has to be boring. It looks like I'm going to have to hold your hand through it then." She continued ahead of him as he stopped. _Did she mean to say it like that, man? _"And enough with saying, 'man', at the end of your sentences!" Kobi became shocked. _She can read minds, too? _Tsumi looked back him. "No, I can't read minds. It's just your imagination."

OoOoOoOo

"So, what'd you guys think? Those were some pretty good matches, wouldn't you say?" Naruto sat at his round table with his friends and awaited some input.

Choji was the first to respond. "That Kaito guy is pretty scary, so it warmed my heart to see Chojiko stand up to him. I didn't have that kind of courage for a while."

Ino smiled brightly. "And it looks like Inora's pestering about the calorie technique has paid off very well. I've never seen her have that much fun in a while." She looked over at Garaa and narrowed her eyes. "Your son turned out…interesting."

Garaa rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry. He's usually not like…ok, yeah, he's strange. I'm glad he finally lost an actual match, maybe he'll learn to take things more seriously now. Although I still have to figure out why he likes pain so much…" He quickly changed the subject. "That was the first time Shikamira and Kankiri have fought. They did well, but I guess Shikamira's inherited your family's intelligence."

Temari grinned at the compliment. "Well she is the most competent out of our kids. Asumaru and Tekaku are too much like their father: Lazy and consequence free."

Shikamru grunted. "Whatever. I'd like to know what jutsu the Vin guy was about to use." He sighed. "Looks like it doesn't matter. Takeshi looked pretty smart in that fight."

Sakura pumped her fist. "Of course he did! We've been training him for the exams, but he's always had a good head on his shoulders. Unlike Hitomi." Everyone in the room gave her a questioning look.

Sasuke leaned back. "Just ignore that. I think Akano did well to last as long as he did, but Nagi's looking pretty tough." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Ah who am I kiddin'. That was one of the worst match ups I've seen in the exams."

Ten-Ten giggled. "See? And I still have to explain why ninja tools are so good. I remember teaching him how to get faster by constantly barraging him with kunai for motivation." The room seemed quiet, staring at her for a moment. She laughed nervously. "It's not like I hit him or anything. Just nicked his clothes when he was slacking." Sweat began to drop.

"He has done well. The same can be said for Tsumi. Sorry Shino." The room seemed to be surprised Shino was sitting at the table the whole time. He just shrugged. "I don't know why I never thought to put an element to byakugan techniques. Did you teach her that, Hinata?"

The women in question nodded her head. "No. I only teach them how to use the moves, but they always disappear and come back with some crazy idea. Naruto didn't even know, so that means he's starting to get over his stalking phase." She smiled at him, making the group laugh.

"Haha, that's hysterical. Almost as funny as that last match." Everyone looked at Kiba like 'damn!' Naruto quickly saved himself. "I'm not bashing Kobi, it was just legitimately fun to watch." All eyes turned backed to Kiba as he scoffed.

"The kid just has problems focusing. At least he showed he could take a hit…for no reason. And what's up with that other clown? Datsu right? Why does he know how to use shadow clones?" All the eyes went back to Naruto.

With a sigh, Naruto answered. _Time to dig myself out of a hole. _"Yuuki wanted to learn a water jutsu, so they exchanged techniques. I'm not happy about it, since it's forbidden and all, but he seems to mean well. Usually I'd be concerned with his chakra, but he's got a crazy amount. Rekano assures me he's going to keep tabs on him." The group quieted down for a moment before checking the time. There was still a small chunk of time left.

"Why, for the love of god, did you let Isami be the announcer and ref?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

Naruto grinned. "What, is he too good? Come on, how many chunin exams have you been to with that kind of crowd energy?"

"Did I mention he's confusing the crowd into agreeing with him? Also, he almost took someone's head off today! Twice!" Sasuke argued.

"That was staged. You didn't read the ninja plan of the day?" Naruto smiled at Sasuke's scoff as he read the paper.

He looked back to Naruto with a scowl. "You paid someone to get a deadly weapon thrown at them twice?"

Naruto nodded. "…yeah?"

Sasuke leaned back. "Not bad." The group shook their heads.

Shikamaru pulled out a stat card. "It would seem I need to tweak these a little. Two of the outcomes weren't compliant with their ranks."

Temari grabbed the card from him and ripped it in half. "Enough already. When you first started messing with stat cards, you didn't sleep for three days. Leave a little bit of room for upsets why don't you?"

Shikamaru sighed. "So much for that idea…"

Naruto looked at the time. "Well, I guess we should head back out there. I don't want to miss Yuuki's fight with Kaito. I've never seen her fight since she's improved, only read!"

Shikamaru stood up. "You know, Kaito's speed is pretty high, and his swordsmanship is twelve. Are you sure she can handle it?"

Naruto grinned. "I know you've read the mission reports and her stat card. But, we're about to find out. To the second round!"

-END-

**A/N**

Whew, there you have it. Every match is important to me, so that's why you see them all. On to the planning. I have, since day one, been recording my characters stats in excel. That's where "Stat cards" come from. Now, for the match ups, I assigned "rank" By "Stat", took Yuuki on her bye, and used the "RandBetween(2,15)" for match ups. I believe I only tweaked one, but I can't remember. I decided this whole tournament a couple months ago.

O_O

I'm ranting, so let me know if the justu's throw you off, the way something happened was confusing, (Vin's attack maybe?), Or you felt it could have been approached better. If you don't like a result, and you make an outstanding point, I have no issue tweaking my careful plans. Better be OUTSTANDING though. :P


	18. Heating Up! Round Two

**A/N**

I'm sorry if you think any of my fights are not necessary. It's a challenge I face every time: Some things in Naruto are too unexplored, and I feel it's my job to show what they are truly capable of. Unless the strength level is a large gap, expect to see a well fought match. In the later fights, isn't it better if you understood what the fighters have gone through to make it their? Rhetorical, I think it's fun; therefore, it shall happen.

**Chapter 18: Heating Up! Round Two**

The stands soon revitalized and guest anxiously awaited the next round of the final exam. The fighters had returned and only five minutes remained until the scheduled eighth fight. The fatigue from the previous round had been mended as best as it could by the medical staff. However, chakra could only be replenished so much, and it was up to the ninja to keep themselves in optimal conditions. Yuuki finished her advice to her sister.

"Just keep in mind that these fights aren't a joke. You showed a lot of your attacks, so try to keep your moves a bit varied from here on. Does that help?"

Tsumi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. I just really enjoy the atmosphere of a fight, that's all. Are you sure you're ready to take on Kaito? And what did Noriko have to talk to you about?"

Yuuki smiled with a wink. "You'll have to wait and see! Kaito is powerful, but I think I know how I'm going to approach this one." Tsumi raised an eyebrow as Yuuki turned her back. "He's the son of a Samurai: It wouldn't be right to face him dishonorably, now would it?"

OoOo

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! I didn't make that giant tidal wave, so it must have been her. It's going to be like fighting another me out there…" Kaito watched as Datsu turned away. "But better…"

With a stern hand placed on Datsu's shoulder, Kaito smiled. "We've worked together for a long time, Datsu. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I refuse to face a worthy opponent by using assumptions. Win or lose, I only ask the match to be satisfying. That is all I've ever asked for, right?" Datsu looked at him, nodding in agreement.

"Someone's gotta face me in the finals, it might as well be you. I won't except defeat as an excuse!" Datsu turned away. Kaito smirked.

OoOo

A familiar voice rang through the area. "An hour has passed and our combatants are here. At this time, we ask everyone to take their seats." Isami appeared before the crowd in the center. "Yo! Who's ready to start round two?" A loud cheer let out as Isami pointed a hand to the contestants. "For round two, the arena will not shift. The talented folks who make such a thing possible have earned their rest." The crowd seemed to feel bummed out until Isami raised his fist in the air. "It's a match everyone's been waiting for. We've seen how vicious Kaito from the Village Hidden in the Rivers can be. With a seven-hundred pound sword, a young man more fit to be a samurai challenges himself to becoming a ninja. However, can these attributes guide him to victory against our ace of the tournament? Kaito, rank nine, VS. Yuuki, rank one. Ladies and gentlemen, no matter the result, the victors of this round will not disappoint you!" A wild applause grew as Yuuki made her final preperations.

-Match Eight: Arms' length-

"…Just strap this one in like this…" Yuuki fastened her blade to her back, easily accessible to her right hand. "There!"

As she went to depart, a hand gripped her arm. Takeshi eyed her suspiciously. "What are you doing with a sword? Don't even think about fighting Kaito with that."

Yuuki pulled her arm away with a grunt. "You already know I don't underestimate others. If you would have let me explain things earlier, you might understand." He looked to her, more with concern than annoyance. Yuuki sighed. "I've got a match to fight. Can you just keep quiet and watch?" She jumped down and walked to the center. Once she did, the crowd went wild again.

Takeshi crossed his arms and sighed. "Good luck, Yuuki."

OoOo

"The fighters are present, so let there be no further stalls." Isami glanced at Yuuki's additional weapon with a judgmental face. _I didn't teach her how to use one of those._ He shook it off as he flashed away from the ring. "Begin!"

Kaito's eye's shot open as he closed the gap with his signature low sweep lead. As Yuuki jumped backwards, her hands already formed the seal for shadow clones. Two appeared, unsheathing her sturdy old sword just slight enough to parry his rotating swing. Kaito smirked, pushing harder until he destroyed the clones. However, Yuuki had already opened up with a new attack. "Heavenly Spin: Auger!" Her body pushed forward, spiraling into the form of a drill that Kaito could barely attempt to block. The force managed to break through his defense and his body was sent flying back. The stunned crowd went wild. Kaito skid off the ground and recovered quickly.

"There's someone I'd like to honor this fight with." Yuuki drew her blade and pointed it at Kaito. "And I hope I can entertain both her and you with this." She let her left hand firmly grip the base and took a lower stance.

Kaito began to laugh, switching to his right hand. "An unexpected duel to say the least. Very well Uzumaki-san, let us talk with our blades this match." Yuuki felt the sweat drip off her forehead.

OoOo

"What is _that?_" Nagi prodded Takeshi for an answer. Takeshi nodded his head in disbelief himself. "The shadow clones I figured, but a mobile heavenly spin? And now she's challenging a swordsman to a duel?"

Without a response from Takeshi, he turned to Tsumi. "Do you know?"

Tsumi stared in awe and excitement herself. "I haven't seen her train with a sword at all. I'm just as lost as everyone else." Takeshi snapped back, turning to Noriko. _No way, was that the reason? _Noriko held her arms crossed and observed the match as it progressed.

OoOo

"Ungh!" Yuuki grunted behind the force as she parried downward with a jump. She spun her body to not take the whole impact and targeted Kaito with a left kick. Kaito dipped under and came down vertically. Rolling as she landed, Yuuki evaded his strike and lashed at his back. It was useless, as he pulled his arm back and blocked her swing. _Damn, it's like trying to chip a diamond with wood. _Yuuki let her blade scrape off his and swung for speed. With a rapid arsenal of vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and stabbing motions, she showed him everything she had. _He's just as quick as she said he'd be!_ On her last stab, he allowed it to go between his left arm and body and swiftly shattered her blade with his. Her hands screamed in pain as he kicked her to the ground. He pointed his sword at her.

"I'll take the win against the person you fought for. Now, I want to see what Yuuki can do." Before he could react, a clone blasted him away with an empty palm thrust.

Yuuki dropped her hand seal. "Looks like I'm still wet behind the ears with a blade." She stood up and Isami exhaled in relief. Kaito settled his feet with a smile as Yuuki closed her eyes. "Byakugan!" Her eyes bolted open and Yuuki's hands already showed her seal. "Kyuusoku Kage no Bunshin!" Kaito attempted to catch up as clones spawned while attacking all around him. They didn't all spawn at once, rather one right after the other. Over the course of ten seconds, he had fended off dozens before realizing the true nature of the assault. _A distraction! _As it came to a halt, he found himself staring down a couple ranks of Yuuki's clones consisting of four each. _This won't be a walk in the park…_ He turned his back to see another rank behind him. _Not at all. _The ranks had already prepared their hand seals and released their jutsus. Starting from the second rank and moving to the back, the jutsus made a deadly combination. "Fuuton: Reppushou! Katon: Komakai Kaki! Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Kaito kept focused. _From the front, a collaboration wind-fire jutsu wave coming at me. From the rear, Datsu's B-rank water jutsu. Four at once, being controlled into different paths? No escape available. Hah! That's more like it! _Kaito quickly grabbed his sword with both hands and swung it tilted at a forty-five degree angle. His rotation became faster and faster until the jutsus collided over him.

OoOo

Shikamira joined the others in their shock. _No way. They really weren't kidding when they said she took out all those thugs. Yuuki herself isn't even breaking a sweat at that amount of clones. She can literally command a platoon of ninja with one technique. _

"No way! For a minute I thought she was on the losing end, but she just completely out gunned Kaito, man!" Kobi was practically hanging over the fence, looking in awe. Both Isami and Naruto observed the alteration to the technique. Coupled with the military like setup, they couldn't help but smile.

"Of course she had it under control! You think my sister would go down without a fight?" Tsumi smacked Kobi and looked back to her stationary sibling. "Finish it, Yuuki!"

Noriko was standing close as well, giving all her attention to the rising steam where Kaito was. _Finish? Well she better, but how did Kaito…_

OoOo

The steam turned into a twister and quickly dissipated. Kaito came to a halt, gasping for air. His clothes had been slightly charred and then soaked. The crowd roared as the fighter endured the amazing onslaught. His eyes rested on Yuuki. "Judgment day!" Pushing as fast as he could, he plowed straight through the clone ranks and straight for Yuuki herself. The speed and efficiency had been impressive, as Yuuki was barely able to touch her hand to her thigh before he was swinging down on her with both hands. _She wasn't expecting to have to move, I've caught her off guard. I'm out of her strike range, yet she's in mine; Isami should stop the fight now._

"Haa!" Kaito froze in shock. The top half of his blade stuck in the ground and the base remained in his hand. His eyes glued to the wind infused blade that was held to his throat. Yuuki stood six feet away with a smile on her face. Kaito didn't need to look twice to know his blade had been sliced through.

He dropped the hilt and raised his hand. "It would appear you've inherited an interesting blade. Chakra blades…I…just have no counters." Kaito smiled. "You've shocked me, Uzumaki-San. I submit."

The crowd showed a revitalized roar as the judge made his way the fighters. "How about that? I almost called this match three different times. Inside the water and fire jutsu, Kaito managed to mix the two with a whirlwind and canceled them out. But let's take a closer look at those final seconds." The video played as Yuuki reached to touch her thigh. "As you can see, she had a seal that held the sword in it all along. Since it was a chakra sword, she could channel wind nature into it, and with skill, could cut through even Kaito's monster blade." Giving another cheer, the audience let them know how much they enjoyed them. Kaito picked up the pieces of his sword and Yuuki went back the fighter's stands.

OoOo

"Hey, you had me worried for a minute." Takeshi approached Yuuki as she adjusted her hair.

Yuuki laughed for a moment. "You know, I had myself worried for a minute. That was exhilarating!" Yuuki looked over to Noriko and nodded. She returned it and walked over to Datsu's team.

Tsumi busted in next. "That was cool! I didn't know you knew anything about swords!" Tsumi stretched quickly and jumped back up. "Now I just have to go through Shikamira to take you down. This should be fun!"

Nagi inched himself into the conversation. "Don't think she'll be a push over." After an awkward silence, he looked at Yuuki. "That was awesome! You have to teach me how to use the heavenly spin like that!" Everyone's eyes stared in shock at Nagi's childish reaction. He coughed, squaring himself up. "Yes, well, I look forward to seeing what else you know about the byakugan. If you'll excuse me…" Nagi backed away and headed for Shikamira.

Yuuki shot a look back to Tsumi. "Don't keep underestimating people. I'm telling you, Shikamira isn't someone you're going to want to play games with."

Tsumi waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. I know how smart she is. I'll be sure to take her super serious."

Takeshi and Yuuki looked at each other and shrugged. "Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you. If you don't go all out like you did against Shitto, then you're going to regret it."

OoOo

Kaito plopped down next to Akano, holding the two halves of his sword. Datsu slid in with a grin. "Rough fight?"

He set the blade down and looked up to Datsu. "She's insane. I felt like no matter what I did, I was playing into her scheme. She's clearly been training harder than us."

Datsu pumped his chest out. "Harder than you two maybe, but no one trains harder than me! No one will put me down this tournament!" Datsu glanced over, seeing Inora glaring at him for an awkwardly long time. He chuckled nervously, sitting down next to Akano. "Hey, what's with that girl? You think she's single?" Akano shook his head.

"Why am I so unfortunate? What did I do to deserve being placed in a team with this fool?" Kaito nodded subtly in agreement.

OoOo

"It seems like she's not taking her matches seriously. You aren't going to lose to someone like that, are you?" Shikamira sighed.

"I wish it were as simple as just making promises. You know how much chakra she has, and how quick she is." She gave him a smirk. "Luckily, she's not as cautious as Yuuki. I'll give it my best shot for you."

Inora's senses must have been tingling, as she was now next to them. "Oh, what's this? You two sure have been close lately. Am I seeing the next big couple?" Nagi pulled back as Shikamira shoved Inora's face away from the scene.

"You shut up! How many times do I have to tell you, Nagi is an obstacle I must over take. Nothing more!"

Inora smirked deviously. "So you want to 'overtake' him then? I didn't think that was your style, but I'll still cheer you on!" Shikamira gritted her teeth looking back to Nagi.

"We'll talk about this later!" Shikamira hurdled the fence and readied for her match.

Nagi cocked his eyes over to Inora. "Was she talking to me, or you?" Inora shrugged and then changed the subject.

"Hey, do you like Shikamira?" Nagi's eye twitched.

"You're pretty relentless, aren't you?" She snickered as Nagi changed the subject. "You like that masochist, don't you?" Inora's attitude dropped.

"Alright, we're done here."

OoOo

"Here we are, match two of round two! With a display of power and speed, Uzumaki Tsumi was swift to show exactly why she was high ranked. However, Shikamira has shown a very cunning approach to her fight against her cousin. How will brutality fair against strategy? You are about to find out! Match nine: Uzumaki Tsumi, rank two, VS. Nara Shikamira, rank ten. Begin!"

-Match Nine: Brain VS. Brawn-

Shikamira lead the assault with a quick attack from her chakra fan. Tsumi dipped back with glee, returning an uppercut that barely missed Shikamira's jaw. _Damn, I need her to use up chakra, not try to punch me out. _She rolled around Tsumi, using her fan to attack as she leapt back. Tsumi slid to the right and pressed after her, only to find more wind chakra skimming right by her side.

"Headed for the tree coverage, huh? I'm not about to let you have more shade!" Tsumi created five clones and made hand seals. _That's good. _"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Six massive fireballs were launched at Shikamira. The slow speed made them simple to dodge, but the tree she retreated to was incinerated quickly. Tsumi herself seemed excited by the maneuvers. "I guess I shouldn't let you get comfortable either." She created five more clones and the two groups created different hand seals. Shikamira began a forward charge. _Can't really take any hits either. This is getting problematic. I figured she knew how to use shadow clones. _The new clones readied themselves. "Suiton: Suishouha!" A massive amount of water accumulated as the real Tsumi jumped away. Shikamira glanced up, but focused still on the next wave of clones. _The giant orb of water is coming straight for me, but what are the other clones doing? _Shikamira increased her speed to avoid the impact of the giant orb as water quickly flooded in under her. _That would have hurt. _The clones slammed their hands into the water. "Raiton: Kangekiha!" Without another second, Shikamira jumped as high as she could with the assistance of her fan. A mass of hisses and crackles rang out as five powerful lightning jutsus combine and coursed through the water. _Yikes, fire, water and lightning? Just like Yuuki used fire, water, and wind. That was a B-ranked technique too. _The clones were destroyed, and Shikamira landed safely away from the water. Tsumi became more excited. "Looks like you're having all the fun right now. You want to step up the competition?"

Shikamira adjusted her fans and stared back. "Good. For a minute, I thought that's all you could do." _One more act like that, and then I should be able to give it a go. _Shikamira closed her chakra fan and put both away. She began making hand seals.

Tsumi grinned making a few herself. "Alright, smart ass! Let's see what you can do. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

"Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" A massive chunk of earth rose up to completely block Tsumi's fire jutsu. "That may buy me time, but now she'll use the byakugan with lightning jutsu. Doton no jutsu!" A chunk of earth formed into a makeshift shield as Shikamira drew her chakra fan.

Tsumi watched with her byakugan after making a clone. "Earth, huh? Didn't see that happening, but you know what to do." The clone nodded, finishing it's hand seals. "Raiton: Raigeki no Yoroi!" The clone was enveloped in an aura of electricity as it shot off with great speed.

The clone zipped around the barrier, dodging the wind jutsu. Shikamira bit her lip. _Is this the real body then? Either way…_ "Eat this!" Shikamira launched the shield at Tsumi and waved an intense blast of wind at her. However, Tsumi was struck and dissipated in lightning. "A lightning clone enveloped in a lightning aura? A diversion, but from where?" She backed against the wall.

Tsumi pushed her palm up against the wall of defense. _I'll keep it hidden for you, Yuuki. Rasengan! _The wall exploded open, pummeling Shikamira with her own defense and launching her to the ground. "Boo!"

OoOo

"Gotta hand it to her, she's pretty good." Takeshi watched as Yuuki grunted.

"She's still not being careful though. Her chakra was pretty drained from Shitto, and now she's using more trying to toy with Shikamira. She should be keeping distance in this fight." _I have to give her props for disguising the rasengan._

OoOo

Shikamira forced herself up, eyeing down Tsumi. _That move had to have used up a lot of chakra. Still, blasting through a thick layer of earth? What was that? _Tsumi herself laughed. "What's next then?"

Shikamira deployed her second fan, releasing explosive tags. Tsumi moved in close to strike, but Shikamira was ready herself. As chunks of earth flew by, they exchanged a few blows until Tsumi struck Shikamira in the solar plexus. As she fell once more, Tsumi sighed. "You seem to be tired now." _Her chakra is pretty low. I should probably end this._

Shikamira laughed as she rose, still gasping for air in between. "On the contrary: it would seem you are the tired one." Shikamira reached in her pocket on her left side. Tsumi was shocked as her body mimicked. _No way, was it when I hit her? There's no way I'm going down without a fight! _She attempted to overpower the technique, making Shikamira struggle herself. They inched closer, barely capable of making any movement. _It's no use…my chakra is just barely too low._ Finally, Shikamira raised her kunai to Tsumi's throat and fake slashed it. "You're dead, Tsumi."

Isami bolted to the combatants and waved his arms. "It's over! Shikamira escapes with a win over Uzumaki Tsumi!" The crowd raged with excitement as Shikamira dropped the technique. "This is arguably the biggest upset of the tournament! Number two has been flushed down!" Shikamira teetered slightly, and Tsumi was there to stabilize her before she fell.

"As much as I want to hit you right now, that was pretty cool." She grinned at her, helping her recover her balance. "I guess I should have used my water and lightning combo to finish you off, but I hate staying so far away all the time."

Shikamira settled herself. _Damn, down to the last bit of my chakra. I can't believe she was still able to resist that much. _"I don't know how much chakra you have, but I'm glad you're so impatient with jutsus. I'll count this as one of my luckier wins."

OoOo

They made their way back to the fighters' area, where Tsumi wagered she'd catch hell. She waltzed up to her team with an indifferent attitude. Yuuki looked as if she was going to tear into her sister, but refrained. "You know, I could say I warned you, but you probably would have just waved that off anyways." Takeshi glanced back to Yuuki, surprised that she wasn't screaming at her. Yuuki turned her head to look at Shikamira. "I think what's frustrating me is something I need to get over. You're not me anymore, and different things make us happy." She looked back to her sister, who was actually shocked. Yuuki smiled. "It was a hell of a match, Tsumi. It almost looked like you were going to become a jutsu master out there."

She snorted in response. "As if I would enjoy that sort of cheap stuff." Takeshi gave her a funny face, making Tsumi groan. "Alright, maybe I like using clones and lightning, but that distance stuff is just too…safe." She quickly turned around, pretending to be upset. _That wasn't too bad, but I bet Ripper still thought I was awesome. _Tsumi ran over to the dog and began playing with it, rather carefree.

"She's pretty free-spirited, isn't she?" Takeshi spoke to Yuuki, who nodded in agreement.

"You know…I remember acting like that not too long ago. Maybe I am being a little too serious." Takeshi raised an eyebrow, deciding not to press the issue any further.

OoOo

Inora pressed up close to Shikamira. "That was amazing! I can't believe you pulled of a win against that powerhouse, byakugan users. I guess they aren't as tough as they want everyone to think they are." She looked with a cat-like smirk over to Nagi, who coughed to let them know he was right there.

"You're chakra is pretty low, Shikamira. That was an excellent win, but maybe you should eat something to help regain some."

She nodded a little bit, but leaned back. "Eh, I'm a little too tired to go buy food. I'll be fine." Nagi walked over to his things and tossed her his lunch. She looked at it and tried to give it back. "No, you need to eat too. Inora can go get me food if I really needed-"

"Inora's match is right after mine. I can buy my lunch, so you need to eat. That's the end of this discussion. If you'll excuse me…" Nagi walked away, leaving Shikamira to look wantonly at the food in her hands.

Inora got up, winking at her. "Well, a gift is a gift. It would be rude for you to reject it, right? And giving it to you with such authority…" Shikamira's face deadpanned as her stomach rumbled.

OoOo

Yuuki perched up against the rail, waiting for Takeshi to come. "You sure you can take him? You saw what he did to Akano."

Takeshi looked to her with a smirk. "You haven't seen the training I've gone through. I'm pretty sure I can beat him. I'm the only one capable of matching his speed now, and I'm going to kick it into high gear this round. I don't think you understand just what it means to face the sharingan."

Yuuki rolled her eyes. "Still an arrogant ass." Takeshi rubbed his nose and snickered. Yuuki regained eye contact. "Don't be throwing every move you got out there. You're going to need all the surprises you can get to beat me. In the finals."

Takeshi crossed his arms behind his head as he walked away. "And you call me arrogant."

OoOo

"The next two fighters have both showed you overwhelming skill at fast speeds. Overall, the speed stat in this year's exam have been phenomenal, however, two have shown themselves to be at the top. Uchiha Takeshi, wielder of the sharingan, will go against Nagi, wielder of the byakugan. Rank three VS. Rank six!" Isami paused as both Takeshi and Nagi readied themselves. "Begin!"

-Match Ten: The Battle of Eyes-

Without hesitation, Takeshi vanished and Nagi activated his byakugan. _Body flicker, huh? _"heavenly spin!" Takeshi, who had come inches away from striking Nagi, had been thrown back by the defensive maneuver.

Still on his feet, Takeshi pulled out a kunai to parry the ninja tools thrown at him. _I figured it couldn't be that simple. _Nagi began to retreat to distance. _Looks like he knows that I'm more in the mid to short range fight. I'm not going to let him get off that easy! _Takeshi utilized the body flicker technique to counter attack Nagi with shurikens. Then he formed hand seals on the fly. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Multiple balls of fire were sent after Nagi, who prepared to counter them. However, shurikens shot out of the flames and made him dodge. Now the shurikens pulled back, missing him and landing in the ground. "Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!"

Nagi shot his attention to the technique as his movement was impeded. _Strings? That means…_ The fire traveled close along the chord, threatening to burn Nagi. "Heavenly spin!" As he came out of his attack, Takeshi came from underground and nailed him with a glancing blow to the chin. _His moves flow well._ Nagi dipped down, blocking the incoming knee with his gentle fist. _There! _Nagi went to continue the assault, when Takeshi vanished once more. _Not a chance! _"Heavenly spin!" His opponent was bounced away once again, but Nagi had already started panting a little. _I get it. He's trying to chip away at my chakra. I can't afford to keep being careless. Something's off though…_

Takeshi and Nagi charged head on. "Figured me out already, huh?" His eyes now lit red as they came into close quarters. _He wasn't using his sharingan!_ Nagi put his all into striking Takeshi, but he felt like he was swinging at air. _Impossible, is this some sort of genjutsu? _Now Takeshi began striking back, while Nagi began trying to parry and dodge. _I can't seem to shake him into a mistake. His reactions are perfect right now. _Takeshi jumped above him and clasped his hands on Nagi's ears. _No choice!_ "Heavenly spin." As Takeshi was thrown away, Nagi staggered. _He threw my equilibrium off! _

Takeshi had already began his next attack, forming his last hand seal. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" _Shit! _Nagi jumped to the side, only to be met by a knee to the face. As a result, he was sent twenty feet back and tumbling along the ground. The battered boy rolled over and looked at the sky, seeing Takeshi already above him. "You alright, Nagi?"

He smirked, trying to get his vision to focus. "If I had just been able to…use my tools a bit more. It's never a good sign when a Hyuuga uses heavenly spin four times in a five minutes. You really got me good."

Isami approached them and assessed Nagi. "That's it. Nagi is unable to continue. This match is Uchiha Takeshi's win! What an overwhelming performance!" Greeted with the now expected roar of the crowd, the fighters were escorted back to the combatants area.

OoOo

"Ah, so Takeshi won already, huh?" Inora walked out from the break room and Yuuki turned her head.

"Yeah, where were you?" She observed the smile on her face.

"Oh, you know. Just preparing for the next match. You'll see." Takeshi came back in a good mood.

"Good luck out there! Datsu isn't normal." She smirked and waved her hand as she walked away.

Yuuki turned to him now, seemingly in a lightened mood. "Those were some good tricks out there. Are you sure you saved enough?" Takeshi just crossed his arms.

"I think you'll find I'm your rival for a reason. You need to do your part as well." Tsumi looked between them and felt fire growing.

"Hey, that's the way I remember everyone being. Takeshi looked pretty cool out there, didn't he Yuuki? I saw you cheering a few times."

Yuuki turned around with her pride. "It was ok, but he was trying to go for style too much. Show off."

He shot a deflated pose. "Oh come on! I was just trying to survive that match, not show off…"

OoOo

Inora stretched as much as she could before getting ready to go. Nagi and Shikamira had been sitting next to each other, discussing Nagi's match.

"I see. Yes that does seem likely to have worked. I'll keep that in mind next time." He looked over to Inora. "Are you sure you're ready for this guy? Datsu looks pretty tough. He has a lot of chakra, and not only does he know a large amount of water ninjutsu, but he can use shadow clones too."

Inora remained in her peppy demeanor as she responded. "I guess we'll just have to see, won't we?" Nagi pulled back. _She's pretty confident for someone who graduated with average marks. Is she really going to be alright?_

Nagi's stomach ate at him and his eye's bulged. _Ah, that's right! I gave Shikamira my lunch! Damn. _As his eyes shifted to her, she gave him the rest. "I figured this would happen, so I only ate half." Nagi ever so slightly flushed as he accepted it.

"What do you mean, 'figured this would happen?'" Shikamira crossed her hands behind her head and smiled.

"It was a seventy-three percent chance that you would lose. Those were the outcomes of my predictions, anyways." She gazed at the clouds and the mid-day sun.

Nagi looked back to his food. "Seventy-three percent? I feel even worse now…"

She sighed. "Oh, get over it already. If it's any consolation, I was rooting on that twenty-seven percent chance you'd win." Shikamira blushed as she saw his expression and moved her hands in a defensive position. "Just so we could fight, you know? No other reason!"

OoOo

"Hell yeah! Just you wait, red eye punk! I'll show you how far I've surpassed you next round!" Datsu punched out his imaginary foe and put up the victory sign. Kaito sighed.

"Is it really that big of a rivalry? You two have only fought once, and we're not even from the same village. Maybe you should mellow out for a minute." Datsu clenched his fist at Kaito.

"Of course it's a big rivalry! What kind of main character would I be if every fight was stagnant? When I win these exams, everyone will recognize our village. And I'll be chosen as the Kyuuryuukage!" With his arms spread out, Datsu let out a maniacal laugh.

Both Kaito and Akano stared at him before looking at each other. "He's delusional."

Datsu put on a tough guy face and flipped them off. "Screw both of you! I'll prove how awesome I am. I've only ever lost once, and I've vowed to never let it happen again!" The boy leapt over the fence and met his opponent in the center.

OoOo

As Isami walked out, the crowd cheered and hollered. Isami put his hands up. "Please everyone! I know it's not every day an idol like me walks the streets, but you should be cheering for the next two fighters!" The crowd quieted. A brief period of awkward silence swept over the arena.

Finally, a fan stood up and shouted, "Just start the next match already!" Several kunai made him bite his tongue as Isami raged.

"Silence!" Tears flowed out of the man's eyes. _I wasn't paid to get this many weapons thrown at me. _The crowd stared in awe. Isami crossed his arms. "The moment before a match is crucial to a fighter. It is their chance to size up their opponent, and-"

Inora and Datsu threatened Isami now. "Just start the match!" Isami bowed his head in defeat.

"Alright, the next round is a strong willed girl that I suspect will be a dominatrix in the future, and she will be going against the self-proclaimed main character of some story he thought of in his head!" Datsu nodded as Inora face showed embarrassment and shock. _Dominatrix! _"Match eleven! Inora, rank eleven, VS. Datsu, ranked eight! …" Everyone's eyes twitched as the man clearly held a grudge against them. Isami's lungs are in amazing health by the way. "…eeeeeeeeeegin."

-Match Eleven: Making a Name-

"Kirigakure No Jutsu!" Inora waited as the fog rolled in and made a few hand seals. _This outta be good. _"Suiton: Chakra Kenpa No Ame!" Datsu smirked as the rain came down and his opponent's position was revealed. However, he noted as the rain seemed a bit heavier than he intended. "Oops, looks like we're going to get drenched. My bad!"

"How about you quit being a coward and say that to my face!" Inora feigned her anger and allowed chakra to pull out once again to form a butterfly. "I can still hear you, so I'll take you out in one strike anyways!"

OoOo

"What's she doing? That's not the way to win the match, my sweet butterfly!" Nezero cringed on sideline at what could be happening inside the mist. He turned to Vin, who stared at him like he was an idiot. "What if that creep turns out to be a super pervert?" Yuuki punched him over the head.

"Quit being weird!" Yuuki's eyes twitched as he giggled in excitement. She turned to Kankiri. "Seriously, why is he weird?" Kankiri shrugged, not being much of a talker. Yuuki grew chills. _This whole team is so weird. Does Kankiri have multiple personalities._

Takeshi walked up. "He's got a point though. She knew this was coming, so does she really think it's a good idea getting caught up on his terms? She's going to waste her chakra swinging at nothing!"

Yuuki put a hand under her chin, scheming. "I did see something though. Inora really isn't just an average genin anymore." The group turned their heads back to the fight.

OoOo

Datsu grinned, knowing his technique had been working. _Maybe I'll play mind games with her until she realizes how awesome I am. Then, surrendering is only natural. Good job, brain! _He approached the girl, who was frantically looking around. From behind, he would give her a few close calls, and her panic would soon get the better of her.

"What's wrong? You call yourself a man? Get rid of this fog and accept punishment!" Datsu closed in behind, about two meters away. _Hmph. Well, I guess it's time to get started. _Inora made the same hand seals and the rain became normal again.

Datsu let his hand out to feel the rain. _It's lighter…and different. Why can't I tell where she is anymore? _Suddenly, his body was overwhelmed by a barrage of fist, elbows, knees, and kicks. However, they weren't the average strength attacks. These ones were crushing his body. "That's it! That's the face I like to see! Don't you look down on me, Datsu!" His hands were too slow to react, as a punch struck him in the abs and carried his body clear to the other side of the battleground. Both the mist and the rain cleared away.

As it did, not a single jaw was left closed. Inora stood in a giddy, playful mood. _Oops! Looks like I went a little too far with that one. Better tone it down. _Datsu was on the floor, battered and bleeding. He forced himself to his knees, only to fall forward and rest on his hands.

OoOo

Takeshi turned to Yuuki and pointed at the scene. "The fuck?"

Maintaining focus on the fight, she enlightened everyone. "Inora knows water jutsu's. She used the rain sensory jutsu at the same time Datsu did. This created a heavier downpour that he should have noticed, but she pretended like she couldn't see him. Once Datsu was close enough, she cancelled his out and literally overkilled him. I know it's Datsu we're talking about, but he's lucky to be conscious right now. Must be a few broken ribs in there."

Takeshi clenched the rail and looked back. "No way. Is he going to be alright?"

Nezero began throwing a small fit. "What right does that guy have? Taking all of her affection for himself is what he's doing!" Vin grunted, choosing to look back to the fight rather than listen to his teammate. Nezero smirked. "Just don't forget that bet, Vinney boy!" sweat began to perspire from the guy.

OoOo

"Shit!" Datsu hacked out blood, forcing his body to ignore the pain and look back at his aggressor. _This is worse than I thought. She's not as empty minded as she looks. I can't let these scraps ruin my run though. I have to win!_ "That the best you can do?" Datsu hacked up more blood and spit to the side, leaving a grin.

Inora tilted her head back slightly, resting her chin on the back of her hand with a smile. "Another tough guy, huh? That's all well and good, but don't you think you should give up now?" Inora searched her options. _That's definitely no good. I really can't go around killing people. _

"Gloat while you can. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Datsu spawned several clones, causing him to hold his chest. _No, damn it! Get your act together body. I'm not done here. _The clones were left in a similar state, seemingly pushing through as best they could. The group spread themselves and began working jutsus.

Inora braced herself. _Crap, I was hoping to end it before he could use that. Six colnes, huh? I heard he could do a lot more than that. _Five of them stopped and let out their jutsu. "Suiton: Suishouha!" Inora jerked her head up to find a massive orb of water; however, it wasn't being guided to her. _What's his goal?_ As the water flooded the ground, Inora and the remaining clone jumped on top. _The other clones were destroyed? _The clone and Datsu both charged in after her, both with a face of pain. _Can't be helped. _Inora followed suit, all three of them making hand seals.

Inora finished first, only a meter from the clone. "Katon: Hiendan!" _This jutsu is massive, and at this range, it should stump whatever he's planning._

The clone stopped and finished his jutsu. "Suiton: Mizu no Tatsumaki!" A massive tornado of water managed to extinguish the fireball, and now the only Datsu left swung in from the left. _No way! _"Suiton: Mizu no Tatsumaki!" This time, the full force of the twister caught Inora in a violent spin up, tossing her out like a ragdoll. _At this speed…Shit! _Her body launched at one of the surrounding trees, but she used the rest of her calorie technique to channel chakra into her feet for a kick. The trunk was shattered upon impact. Unfortunately, her momentum continued until her leg broke impact on the floor.

With a agonized groan, Inora grabbed her leg and rolled up. "Son of a…" She twitched her toes, relieved to find movement. _Hopefully it's just a bad sprain, but there's no way I can walk on this. _Datsu slowly made his way over to Inora, visibly panting in exhaustion and holding his side. _That guy…He must have used more chakra than he should have in the last match, so now his body is in a double jeopardy. I need to put a stop to this before he dies. This will be pushing it, but I have to try. _Inora quickly threw forth strange hand seals. Datsu stopped, closely anticipating what the move could be. She glowed with a bright light that intensified the longer he stared. "Kokuangyo no jutsu!"

Suddenly, Datsu's vision left him. No matter where he tried to look, the light would not return. _What the hell? I can't even hear myself. _He clinched his kunai, feeling his grip. Datsu attempted to dispel the jutsu, but it had no effect. _No way, I'm certain this is genjutsu. Why can't I dispel this? Don't tell me she's good at this lame stuff! _He raised his kunai, gritting his teeth in anger. _Like hell I'm going to lose like this! _With a hard slam, the kunai shot straight through his thigh and his mind screamed in pain. However, his screams became audible to him and his vision returned. Now on the floor, feet away from Inora, he grunted and pulled out another kunai. "Don't fuck with me. I told you, I'm the main character of this story!"

Everyone stared in disturbance. The match was somehow panning out even. Inora put her hands forward with a half-smile. "This is for your own good. Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Datsu braced himself, but suddenly felt himself immobilized once more.

OoOo

"Where the hell am I now?" He looked around; it was dark, but just light enough to see. Then he heard grunts of pain. As he traveled towards the source, he could tell it was Inora. "What is this?"

OoOo

"Did she get it off? That move can end a round before it even begins. I don't think Datsu could even get out of it." Noriko stepped up next to Yuuki, clearly drawn into the fight. Before she could continue, Datsu began screaming in pain. Noriko pulled back. "What is she doing to him?"

Yuuki responded quietly. "The Shintenshin was successful. More than likely, Inora can't handle the amount of pain Datsu's body is in. All she has to do is raise his hand and give up. But it would seem even that is too painful." The entire stadium stared intently as Inora struggled to move his muscles.

OoOo

"I told you, you can't…keep going like this. Your body…it needs medical attention!"

Datsu had learned of the bloodline, also noting that he himself was not in pain. _She's taken all the burdens, trying to force me to give up? Screw that, it's my body! _Inora felt a pressure build around her, and the pain began to pulse. "Get out! Don't act like you know my limitations just because you can't take a little pain!" His words reached her, and the added pressure made her put her hands together.

_I really can't take this. I have to release the technique!_

OoOo

Isami shifted his eyes between the two. Inora moaned slightly and her head dipped before coming back up. Datsu spat out more blood, grinning at her. "crying over this small amount of pain? Ridiculous!" Talking big was his specialty, but all the pain he'd forgot rushed to his head, tearing into him. She watched as his eye's twitched and he reached his kunai towards her. Inora prepared herself with a kunai, but his grip loosened. With another cough of blood, Datsu's face planted into the floor. She stared in shock.

Isami quickly jumped in between and ran diagnostics on the boy. He waved his arms. "Datsu's body gave up on him, leaving Inora as the victor. Forgive me, but this boy from the village hidden in the rivers must be healed quickly!" Datsu's hand clenched Isami's shirt, shocking everyone more.

"Hey, Isami…How'd I do? Do they…recognize us yet?" Datsu's eyes were unfocused, and he didn't appear to be able to move any more than clinching his collar.

Isami smiled, placing his hand on the back of Datsu's head. "After a performance like that, no one will be able to ignore you three. You did well. As expected of the main character." The corner of Datsu's mouth rose as Isami put him asleep. He glanced over to Inora, where his clone grabbed her. "Come on. I can't forget about your leg either."

Inora blushed as the clone picked her up. "Oh, no need to worry abou-" Vanishing cut off her sentence and the crowd stood up in a frenzy of excitement.

Another clone took the mic and waved them to settle. "Datsu put his life on the line to see the battle through. After his body was punished, this guy still busted A-ranked jutsus! That was a very special fight. The Village Hidden in the Rivers has made its mark, producing fine ninja. At this time, we will be breaking for a total of three hours. Round two has concluded, and what a memorable four matches it was. Fighters, please head to the break room. You've earned a chunk of rest. Everyone else…" Isami put three fingers in the air. "Don't even consider going anywhere. Round three is coming. Need I remind you they're the semi-finals?" The crowd let out one final cheer before he turned to the VIP area. His father made a clear head motion to talk with him. "See you very soon!" _Yeah, I've got some things to tell you too, dad. _Isami threw an explosive tag down and vanished with a bang.

**-A/N-**

Well, sorry about a Monday morning release. I was aiming for last Sunday, but it's not always easy to get life on your agenda rofl. I try to explain jutsus when they happen, but if there's anything you want me to elaborate on, let me know. Soo, how many people were surprised by the outcomes? Who actually called these fights? Which ones are your favorites so far? Did any make you rage quit? I don't know these things unless you, the readers, tell me. I'm only one man; I can't catch all my blunders! Thanks for reading!


	19. Ready, Set, Stop!

**-A/N-**

Yes, it's been too long. Have no fear, the story is not dead. Apologies to any fans *all three of you ;)* that have been let down by the delay. Times are hard insert typical excuses, I know but in all seriousness, I hope this story is still entertains you as much as it does me.

Recap: Inora wiped the floor with Datsu, despite him leaving terrible scuff marks and sticky spots on it. Datsu's proud of his effort, shocked by his defeat, and getting major heals after. Inora herself has a leg injury. But what exactly did Naruto want with Isami, and what does Isami need to talk to Naruto about?

**Chapter 19: Ready, Set, Stop**

The door was propped open, and Isami entered to find Naruto by himself. His father signaled him to have a seat, but remained leaning against the wall. "What's wrong? I haven't detected anything suspicious about the exams. No one's really caught my eye."

Naruto put a quick smile back on, moving the conversation. "No, it's nothing. I would really like to hear you opinions about these fights, that's all. More along the lines of who's promotable and who's not." Isami looked critically at his dad. Naruto stared right back. "And I'm not looking for limits on how many are promoted."

This caused Isami to expel a sigh. "After all, you really don't want to deal with unsupported controversy is what you're saying. I know you saw the matches as well as I did, so you're asking to confirm if you could possibly be justified in promoting in bulk, correct?" Naruto remained still, but this all but confirmed Isami's worries. "I'll start by suggesting none of the first round losers be qualified to make chunin. Now that we've set the obvious aside, let's look at the potential assets in fire power we'd need in the case of a coming crisis." Naruto twitched his eye subtly, making Isami close his eyes. "First, Kaito and Datsu should both be promoted for displaying survivability and being superbly specialized. Moving on, we have Tsumi. While she clearly made the wrong decision, we know she was looking at it like a friendly spar, rather than a real fight. However, you cannot ignore her chakra levels and knowledge of unique techniques, as well as the byakugan. Next is Nagi. Byakugan with impressive skill and speed, ninja tool master, and great insight. The remaining victors have been even more surprising: Shikamira managed to out maneuver a superior foe using her high level of intellect. Inora managed to prepare accordingly and exert the most overall ninja ability throughout her matches thus far. Takeshi has shown himself to be quite crafty, fast, and versatile. His statistics are third overall, and at an eight out of ten." Naruto seemed to have already considered these details and sighed once more. "But you already know who the most powerful asset to our force is in this exam. Yuuki showed a whole other level of clone organization, and this time, control of her jutsu combinations. She even invented a new clone technique, new gentle fist move, as well as stood her ground against Kaito with a blade. When isolated, she can command a small platoon and generate devastating tidal waves. You already know where her stats stack up, and even her lowest ones are high for genin usually. As much as it bothers me, you will have to promote her. Even her leadership as a whole is admirable. No one will accept it if they are promoted and she is not." Naruto ran his hand through his hair and sat down himself. Isami sat back and crossed his arms. "Stop giving me the run around. Something's happening, isn't it? Something we're going to need chunin to do, and jonin to keep Konoha safe, isn't it?"

Naruto hung his head, speaking softly. "You've really become a great man, son. Here's what I know: Rural towns have been disappearing recently. Investigation teams from other nations are vanishing without a trace. Only now, we've received intel: A grand bird soaring through the air and raining infernos from the sky."

Isami slammed his hands down as he rose. "Hell's Phoenix! Tamer of Hell's Phoenix…Guden Utsushi! This matter is far more serious than the exams. Why haven't the ANBU been informed of this yet?" Naruto raised a hand, signaling him to calm.

"I have no doubt you are correct. However, our information needs to be accurate, and the nations need to pool resources. Guden is not the leader of Hell's Phoenix. In fact, he may be a rouge member like Biton. We need to keep a calm front in the village so we don't scare the daylight out of everyone with potential war. I made a vow to stop one at all cost." Isami sat back down, now considering what the chunin may get caught up in. Hell, even he wasn't sure what an all-out war would be like. His face sobered.

Naruto put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard for you. It's even more difficult for me. Consider the ANBU informed, but that's where this information stops. However, there's something special I need Yuuki to do. She won't be one of the chunin sent out in an investigation squad."

"Chuunin investigation…" Isami's eyes grew wide as he listened to the Hokage's plan.

OoOoOoOo

"I just can't believe most of what I've seen." Yuuki had been chatting with Tsumi for some time now, breaking down every fight. "I've gone to fifteen exams, and I actually only remember like eleven of them. Think about it: How many exams have had genin at this level of competition in one tournament? Did you see how fast everyone is? Or how about the people using two different natures in the same match? I've seen dad having a really good time, so I think there might be a lot of promotions. But doesn't it seem likely that they're preparing everyone?" Tsumi cocked her head to the side and considered it.

"Yeah, like, ever since the incident, it feels like they're pushing everyone's abilities to the limit. Uncle Konohamaru didn't have to do that with us, but I did hear there were a lot of famous jonin giving specialized lessons. What if something bad is going to happen soon?"

Yuuki looked over the cheerful group of genin and sighed. "Isami said three years, right? But recently, it seems like dad is becoming tenser. He hasn't been stalking me as much." Her face scrunched slightly. "Well, that's a good thing really…" She stared down in thought before speaking softly. "This is why I've been training so hard. I haven't taken any time off so I could prove to dad I wasn't the average genin he had to worry about."

Tsumi looked around, making sure no one was near. She looked back to Yuuki, who was still sweating from her match against Kaito. Her breathing seemed less stable. "Yuuki, you've done enough." She put her arm around her sister's neck and spoke away from others. "I don't give a damn who you are. You just became a genin not long ago, and yet you think you can train like the Hokage." Yuuki shoved her arm off and crossed her arms, but still willing to listen. "You've been called a genius, but even a fool knows when to take a break. No matter how special you think you are, your body can't keep going through this and survive. Maybe you should call off the next match." Her sister stared at her, mostly annoyed. However, Yuuki knew all too well the truth she spoke.

"I can't fool everyone, I suppose. Lately it seems like my body is struggling to recover from fatigue, and I'm responding worse and worse, pushing it into overdrive like I'm invincible. I'm not feeling as sharp outside of battle either." Yuuki shook her head, turning away. "We'll see. Just give me some space. I've got some thinking to do." Tsumi rolled her eyes as Yuuki sat alone and began scratching plans on the ground. _I think I need to give Isami or dad a heads up on this one. _

"Hey, Tsumi!" She turned to find Kobi approaching. He smirked as he reached her. Then he shot a look at a disgruntled Yuuki. His body loosened and he turned back to her. "Did you two get in a fight or something? She looks…uncomfortable."

Tsumi narrowed an eye. "Uncomfortable? What kind of description is that?"

Kobi began to sweat. "Ugh, well you know…she's fidgety, making weird faces, and it looks like she's worked up a sweat. Maybe I could say anxious?"

Tsumi glanced back at her sister. "Yeah, she does." _It's like there's more to it than what I can see. I didn't even consider it, but maybe she's trying to hide it. Now I'm actually getting more concerned. _Tsumi looked back to him with a smirk. "See what a small amount of thought can do?" He laughed before she shot a look back at Yuuki. "Wait. Of course, she's anxious! Does that mean I only pressed her on something she knew? And since I noticed something she was hoping to hide…did I make it worse?"

Kobi shifted his eyes between them and waved his hands. "Hey, if you two need to talk, I'll butt out. It looks important, man."

Tsumi shook her head. "She needs to be alone now. I hope she can figure it out." Kobi nodded, clearly not certain what he was agreeing with. "Anyways, where's Ripper? You're not hiding him from me, are you, _man_?"

"Hah, maybe he's hiding from you!" Tsumi twitched her eyes with a smile that made her look even more threatening than normal. He wiggled around. _Man, just when you think a girl is warming up to you…_

OoOoOoOo

"That was quite unexpected, Inora." Nagi congratulated the blonde as she walked in with a slight tense in her pained leg.

"What, you didn't think I could be so awesome and now you want my babies, right?" His composure busted as he struggled to rebuttal. She waved her hands in laughter. "Oh, it's too much fun making you lose composure like that!" As anger ticked on his forehead, Shikamira stomped his foot.

"I see your ankle is better, but how's your chakra level?" Nagi's glares were unnoticed.

Her friend admittedly shrugged. "I'm pooped honestly. I'd imagine between the two of us, an academy student would have a larger pool."

Shikamira nodded. "Figured as much. Even with a longer break, I don't see us really putting up a good fight against those two. Pretty much to the point of it being futile."

Inora smirked in somewhat agreement, but seemed to considering options. "I'm not sure about Takeshi, but Yuuki might be feeling it a bit. I saw her after that first fight, and she looked like her body was shaking."

Nagi chuckled, almost impressed. "You really have become quite perceptive recently, but I'm afraid it's not that simple." The girls leant him an ear. "My cousin was never always so focused on training and fighting, but she never knows when to call it quits. Any spar we'd partake in, every meal we'd eat, even when it came to getting good grades, Yuuki never gave herself rest. Her body is used to being taxed, and even though she's seemed a bit shaky of late, I don't think she's even tapped a third of her chakra in that last fight." The trio's eyes drifted to the girl drawing up ideas in the dirt and thinking hard about something. "Suggest her body movements become sloppy and her mind dulls in the next fight; I can just tell she would account for that and compensate with sheer numbers and jutsu combinations." Yuuki glanced a look over to them, making them turn away. "Besides, I've heard her father has driven her into a habit of constantly being aware of her surroundings."

They remained quiet until Inora broke it up. "Well I'm not throwing in the towel yet." Shikamira and Nagi looked at her like she was stupid. "Aww, come on! Anything could happen, and I think a tough loss where you gave it your all is a good thing. Datsu showed me that, and the audience almost liked that more than the other matches."

Shikamira smirked. "You may have a good point, but don't be afraid to let down the audience when you need to. It's not like we owe them anything." Before Inora could agree, Shikamira pointed and pushed Inora's face lightly. "Oh my god, that creepy guy just took off his mask." The girls' jaws dropped and Nagi grunted.

OoOoOoOo

"See, it's not that bad, right?" Vin grunted, shifting his eyes around and seeing everyone's eyes glued to him. He bent slightly to get to equal latitude with Nezero.

Speaking through a clearly angry and forced quiet, he responded. "Why did you make this the condition of the bet?" He rubbed his now exposed facial scar that extended from the right side of his nose and continued clear to the edge of his jaw. "Look, they're all wondering what kind of a monster I am and probably readying to defend themselves. Just let me put it back on."

"No way! A bet's a bet; you shouldn't have been so quick to assume Datsu would win." Vin gripped the red-heads shoulder quite firmly, indicating he was too loud. "Come on, just roll with it. I know you have a lot of pain from the scar, but you need to make more friends in your age group. The mask is really what scares others." Vin dropped his grip, seeing everyone drift closer from curiosity. "See? It doesn't matter if you think it's ugly or scary, it's something that defines you from others."

Kankiri nudged in with a blush and agreed. "Yeah. You look good."

Now, a voice rang in nearby. "Good? That's an understatement." The sand siblings raised an eyebrow and Vin's face reddened. Inora was staring awkwardly long at him, and he noticed further all the other girls staring in a similar fashion, scratch for Yuuki, who only bothered to glance. As it turns out, Vin's face was the best quality on him, so much that the guys had taken it as a threat to their shot at a girlfriend.

Tsumi judged him closely, even touching the scar. As he quickly withdrew, she chuckled. "Why don't you talk more? You would definitely get more attention from the girls that way. The scar is what gets me." Simultaneously, Kobi and Kankiri jumped in front of their perspective crushes.

Kobi spoke up. "He doesn't need to. A pretty boy with a scar and inability to talk means he's had a rough past, man. Give him space before he's traumatized."

"Yeah." Kankiri blandly stated.

"Oh, I get it now! This is the boyfriend you were trying to tell me about, right Kankiri? Why did you two breakup though?"

She quickly retreated and both their faces flushed red. "No, he isn't. My ex had short brown hair, not mid length black hair! And he wasn't nearly as well built or tall as Vin! I thought I made this clear when we talked about relationships. Were you listening at all?"

Now just about the whole group stared at Kankiri's unusually long sentence. "Sorry, but even I can't put together a good image from your typical one-word responses. You only make sense when you're worked up about something." Shikamira smiled, half-amused at her cousin's obvious crushing. "Are you worked up because you suddenly feel threatened?"

Kankiri reddened more, but regained composure. "No."

"Hey, what about me? I'm the one who made him take the mask off! Show me a little love here!"

Before Nezero knew it, he was struck to the ground by the whole mob. "Stay out of this, weirdo!"

As they proceeded to bash him, he moaned out of pleasure. "So much…love!"

A new voice entered the break room as Datsu entered. "Yo! I'm back on my feet everyone! No need to worry about-"

"Shut up, Datsu!" As the whole mob screamed at him, Datsu hugged his knees in a dark corner.

A gloomy atmosphere hovered around him. "Has everyone forgotten about the main character?" He murmured to himself.

"About that, can you cry in a different corner? I can't think with you being so annoying near me." Datsu turned to Yuuki, who was giving him a cold stare.

"Cut me some slack, I'm going through an emotional crisis here!"

Yuuki continued on to what she was doing. "Lost interest. Don't care." The boy became a floor mat now and almost appeared to have given up on his life. _Cruel…the world is so…cruel…_

OoOo

"What's this about now?" Hitomi held the note firmly to combat the wind. _Wait for me to get home. _She folded up the slip of paper and sighed. "Jeez, always so vague." She crossed her arms and continued to monitor the surroundings. "Why does he get to prance around like an idiot and I'm stuck patrolling anyway?" She quickly shook her head. _Can't be like that, something can happen at any time. _The ANBU agent regained her vigilance and continued her watch.

OoOoOoOo

The conversations died down in the break room and it seemed only a few whispers escaped. Who was going to go to the finals? How long could the combatants stand? "Alright guys, only fifteen minutes until the semi-finals." Isami popped in surprisingly more casual than one would expect. "You've all been great, so let's finish this night with a good show!" Tsumi glanced around to notice everyone go back to what they were doing before subtly slipping up next to her brother.

"Hey, have you been paying attention to Yuuki?" he dipped his head, matching her soft tone as he looked at her.

"She's been a little funny, but I'm sure it's just jitters. Why the concern?" Isami's eyes became intent with focus.

"I remember what it was like being with Yuuki every day. There were a lot of times she felt bad, but was able to mask it behind something else. Like when she would suddenly stop playing because she was 'hungry', when she was feeling a little ill." The young man narrowed his eyes more. "Look, what I'm getting at is she usually will allow you to 'catch' her in a moment of weakness, but most of the times, she is hiding something more serious. She's panting more after her fights, losing focus outside of battle, and worse, didn't lash out on me when I told her to consider throwing in the towel."

Isami glanced over to his sister, who gave him a dirty look. Isami put on a giant grin, making her roll her eyes back down. "I'm not going to force her into anything, but thanks for the heads up. I'll need more information from you later on that, but unless I have absolute proof she can't win, there's nothing I can do about it." Isami smiled at her, and she gave a slick grin right back. He stood. "Don't assume I haven't had my share of hidden concerns too." He ruffled her hair and turned around. Tsumi raised an eyebrow. "In all honesty, I've already told dad something's off about her." Tsumi opened her mouth in surprise at how thorough Isami always was. _How much does anyone really understand my brother? He's an iceberg when it comes to what he chooses to show._

OoOo

"Seats, people! Seats!" They idle chatter left the stands as the host of the show arrived. "We appreciate the support you've shown us and hope the semi-finals will be enough to top of the day. The first match of this round will showcase Takeshi and Inora." Applause rang out, but subtle confusion echoed amongst the fans. "Wow that went better than I thought. No one said the semi-finals were predictable, and no contender was as unpredictable as our new fourth seat Akamichi Inora!" With a grand cheer, the energetic blonde walked on the field, waving in acknowledgement.

After the crowd noise died down, Isami quieted his tone. "But, what's her next obstacle? The clan that has been the crowd favorite since the joint exams have been held. A boy who looks quite comfortable with his now second seat title. His perfect defense is a relentless offense, Uchiha Takeshi!" Takeshi entered swiftly and took his place with marginal acknowledgement to the roaring crowd.

Inora smiled excitedly and fiddled with her hands. "Don't be afraid to do your best! I hope I can last longer than Nagi did!"

Takeshi sized her up before grinning back. "I'm just happy to fight such gifted ninja. I hope I can last long as well."

_Perfect, I should be able to start with the advantage. _"Oh, stop being so modest."

"Semi-final's match number one: Uchiha Takeshi Vs. Akamichi Inora. Good luck and begin!"

-Match Twelve: Eye Candy-

"Kokuangyo no jutsu!" The familiar brilliant light it up the space between her and Takeshi. "Sorry about this!" Inora quickly called forth her calorie burning technique, but almost screamed when a powerful knee to the chest sent her flying. She rolled over to look at Takeshi. _How did he… _As she stared at him, she was shocked to find his eyes had been shut. "How did you know?"

"You aren't the type to fiddle with your hands without reason." Takeshi took his forehead protector and tied it over his eyes. "Genjutsu works in interesting ways. Be it anything from sound to sight, there has to be a trigger. What kind of genjutsu would I use against someone who relies on sight?"

OoOo

"Wow, what a flashy start." Tsumi pointed as Kobi scratched his head.

"I don't understand genjutsu at all, but it looks like Takeshi was able to counter it pretty well. I'll have to be sure and fight Inora blindfolded, man."

Tsumi shrugged. "I don't think that would be a good idea for you Kobi." She turned to him and saw that he had mimicked Takeshi. Tsumi's face dead-panned. With a stern flick to his nose, Kobi jolted in pain.

"Ah, that was mean! Hey, you can't fight like this! You can't see, man!" He raised his blindfold to see a crowd of people giving him a baffled stare.

Tsumi tightly wrapped an arm around his neck and whispered in his ear. "Remember what I said about thinking before acting or speaking? You can't just let completely obvious observations come out of your mouth."

"But why would Takeshi blindfold himself?"

"I thought the same thing when I saw him for the first time." Akano leaned against the wall, still watching the fight. "There's no point in explaining it, since you're about to see it, but I assure you, countering it is beyond simple."

Everyone let their eyes shift back to the fight. Kobi crossed his arms. _Too much smart talk flying from everyone now-a-days. _

OoOo

"Clever, Takeshi. I should have guessed you'd have a trick up your sleeve." Inora bent her legs and pushed off at blinding speed. As she approached, her fist already moved forward to strike him. Takeshi quickly dodge jumped to the right and attempted to deliver a second knee to her chest. Inora was forced to contort her body with a spin to shave most of the damage. As Inora deflected off, she prepared hand seals. "Suiton: Suishouha!" A large pool of water cushioned her fall and halted Takeshi from advancing further. Inora took the chance to throw kunai at him. Takeshi avoided them, rolling towards her. However, he took a strong kick to the face and was launched backwards. Takeshi flipped himself up as Inora closed in, this time catching her kick with his arm and tossing her like a ragdoll. Inora hit the floor, slowly getting up.

"You seem to be doing pretty well. I wonder how long things will stay that way." Takeshi took off his forehead protector and gave her a smirk. Inora let the sweat trickle down her face as she saw the crimson eyes.

"How can you be fine after taking such a strong kick to the face and be fine?" Takeshi moved his jaw loose and gave it a rub.

"You've definitely got some strength behind it, but just one kick won't be enough to undermine the training I've endured. That is, if the kick was as held back as that one." As he spoke, Inora quickly mover her hands.

"Kirigakure No Jutsu!" Takeshi quickly countered to move in on her, but she had already become mobile with her next jutsu. "Hareyakana Kirigakure No Jutsu!" His eyes stung from an intense light being flashed off the mist, quickly causing him to rely on his hearing. "Gloves are off this time!" With a swift reaction, the Uchiha prepared a jutsu of his own.

_She's desperate now, but I need to watch it. _"Katon: Komakai Kaki!" A swift fire ball spewed towards the sound as he heard a loud sizzle from the impact. _A water clone too? _

"Katon: Bakuhatsu Enhogan!" Coming swiftly, violent fireballs came flanking from Takeshi's left. There were several skimming by him, but he managed to dodge most of them. However, as one impacted the ground, it exploded viciously and sent him airborne. Inora grunted as she gave an onslaught of power punches. Takeshi parried off the majority of the assault, but lost his breath when she landed a blow to his side. Now taking the opening, Takeshi was pulverized by a full force chakra enhanced fist to his gut that sent him bolting to the ground. The mist cleared and Inora lost her aura. Fatigue swept in, and she knelt to the ground. Everyone gasped as Takeshi was crawling out of a crater and Inora was relatively unharmed. Inora smiled as he stood up, decently staggered. "You…are well put together." Her pants grew heavier as she made another jutsu.

"I guess so." As he finished, the ground beneath Inora burst open.

"Suiton: Mizu Kuri No Yaiba!" A blade of water formed in her hand as she jumped, slicing Takeshi as he rose from the earth. He winced, clinching his chest in pain. "I could see your clone over there from a mile away!" As she landed, the earth under her feet pulled her down swiftly.

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" As Takeshi emerged, his shadow clone released. Only Inora's head remained above ground, leaving her shocked. "I have to admit, I felt that one pretty well." He rubbed his stomach with a smirk.

"Inora has been incapacitated in a thriller round! Uchiha Takeshi is going to the finals!" The crowd ignited in cheer and showed no sign of letting up. Isami quickly excavated Inora and spoke to her alone. "Inora, I think that was a fine match. However, you need to be careful with your kekkei genkai. The exploit is fine, but not three times in one day. Go relax for the remainder of the tournament. You're going to need to regain a lot of chakra." She appeared a little more frail than normal, but she was still in a manageable condition as far as Isami had saw. The Hokage's son put his mouth to the mic and finished off the closer. "Takeshi is now one step closer to joining the chunin exam champions. Reserve your seats now if you want to see him battle the finals in three days." The audience gave the teen a final show of appreciation as he headed to the combatants box.

OoOo

"Yo, I can't decide who was more impressive that round, ma-…" Kobi felt a glare run up his backside. "ma-ybe I'll just congratulate them both?" Ripper tilted his head as Tsumi nodded in approval.

"Ah yes, that reminds me." A familiar duo showed up and quickly honed in on Inora as she got back.

"Takeshi, who exactly are these two?" The Uchiha glanced up with a straight face.

"I don't know…never seen them before." The girl that was there dropped her jaw with tears and the guy sighed. Takeshi grinned and put his hands behind his head. "Nah, just kidding. The girl's name is Karui, and the other one's name is Zente. They're from the River Village."

"Hey, quit being lazy Zente! Start writing this: First impression of the Uchiha is a crude sense of humor and distasteful fashion of battle attire!" Takeshi sank his head. _Why does everyone bash my clothes?_

The man sighed once more. "Look, I'm not fond of being a stenographer as is, but I refuse to put stupid observations down. And why do I always get stuck with the paper-related job?" Karui slapped at his face to signal him to shut up.

"So, Inora, are you feeling well enough to give us a brief summary on the battle?"

The tired girl raised an eyebrow at the two. "That depends on who is reading."

Karui bit her lip in thought before having an idea. "A lot of single guys in the River Village that look about three times better than Zente!" The victim of the comment was muffled as Inora contemplated.

"Oh, alright. You and I speak the same language. What do you want from me?"

Karui smirked in victory as Zente grunted. He readied his ink. "We want a breakdown of the entire fight through your perspective. What you thought, what you noticed, things like that."

A group gathered around as the interview commenced. "Well, the preparation before the fight is where it starts. My success revolves around Takeshi's mother believe it or not. She created a nutrient bar that ultimately was a very bitter and unpopular product, due to its insanely high amount of calories. I eat these before big fights, allowing me to burn through calories while still maintaining my girlish figure."

"Takeshi, do you have any opinions on your mother's experimental diets?" She pointed a microphone at him.

"Why do you even have a mic? It's not even hooked up. And no, no comment."

"Anyways, I noticed first thing that Takeshi tended to start his matches with the momentum, and targeting his eyes would be the smartest route to take. I attempted to disguise my genjutsu hand seals before the match so I could ambush him from the start. He caught it, gave me a pretty painful knee, and blindfolded himself. It still led me to believe I could still manage the upper hand. Obviously I was shocked as he countered my punch and almost obliterated me. So I now knew he was able to hear me quite well, but when I cushioned my fall, I noted that he didn't attack. That told me he listened and needed me to hit the ground before he would attack. So, throw kunai, and silently launch towards him with a kick to the face. The kick wasn't as hard because I had to keep it quiet, but I'm still amazed he recovered and caught my next kick."

Zente was frantically scribbling down the summary and Karui continued. "Now, Takeshi threw you pretty hard at that point and lifted his blindfold. Why do you think he responded in this manner?"

Inora sighed. "I had been pressing him pretty hard, but it seemed like he was comfortable with fighting blind. I believe once I landed the kick, he had decided he would use the sharingan when he had a guaranteed opening. When I went down, I knew the eyes were coming out."

"No genjutsu at this point?"

Inora shook her head. "That's pointless against the sharingan. For one, the sharingan can see through genjutsu. I wasn't sure if it would affect him, but he wouldn't know either. That brings me to the second reason; I knew I couldn't get those awkward hand seals off before he would be on me. So naturally, we go to the back-up plan. Takeshi can be pretty chill, so I obviously prompted a question and used the hidden mist jutsu. Definitely had to get moving to avoid getting punished after that."

"Your next move was pretty clever. What exactly was that?"

Inora smirked. "Well, it's a secret, but basically it's maneuvering the outside light so it's reflected right at your opponent. I'm not certain if it's been used before, but I just added 'radiant' on it to spruce it up. Takeshi's eyes were having trouble, but they were still open. Using this gave me time to create a water clone. Takeshi would be using his hearing, so I hoped he would use a massive jutsu when he heard my clone taunt him. Guess he was suspicious, 'cause all he used was a dinky fireball to test the waters."

Now Zente dipped his head in for a question. "It seems like this triggered you to pull out the heavy stuff and try to throw out everything you had. Were you getting concerned with something?" Karui stomped his foot.

"At what point would you fight an Uchiha and not be concerned? No, his fireball was weak, but it showed me exactly where he was and my next jutsu was already locked and loaded. This fire jutsu was B-rank and would leave me drained for chakra, but allows you to shoot a few exploding fireballs from your hands. I charged Takeshi while aiming in the area he was, and the last one managed to hit the ground and catch him off guard. I laid everything I had into the punches, and a lucky shot gave me the opening I needed. Turns out even a shot to the solar plexus wasn't enough to stop him. At this point, my chakra is low, and I'm feeling adverse effects from the butterfly form."

"Alright, so you believe Takeshi's pretty hurt after that. Bring us to the end."

"The first thing I noticed was the lack of shadow Takeshi had. I knew he was an earth-jutsu user as well, so I thought of various techniques, like the decapitation jutsu or just doing what he did against Nagi. I used that D-ranked water jutsu when he attacked; hoping that slash would give me enough to win, the last thing I expected was it to be shadow clone. That's all it took to lose. I'm just glad I hit him a couple times."

"Very great analysis of the fight, and hopefully these accounts of that fight can help young ninja aspire to look at their spars more progressively. Is there any last notes you'd like to add?"

Inora walked over to her seat and plopped down, sighing. After that, she sharply looked up at Zente with a wink and a smile. "I'm cute and single; let me know if there are any hot guys that want to 'spar' with me!"

Zente put his ink away. "I'm not writing that. Let's wrap it up, Karui." Inora puffed her cheeks and Kobi quickly jumped up.

"Hey, how about you interview me now?" Karui placed a finger on her lips, but Zente pulled her away.

"We're only supposed to get the insight on semi-finalist, and I don't like writing as is. Back off and save me as many seconds of my life I can get back as possible."

As the duo left, sweat dropped from everyone's head. Kobi dipped his head. "…man…"

OoOo

Meanwhile, Yuuki prepared herself to enter the battlefield. "Not in over your head as usual, are you?" The voice made her turn to find Noriko.

"Of course not. I've done all the planning I could, so I should be able to give it a good shot."

Noriko shrugged. "Whatever. I don't need to tell you you're not in peak condition, but be sure to watch that chakra. It's going to be your ace in this one." Yuuki nodded as she went to leave. Once more, she was stopped. This time, it was Takeshi.

"Yuuki…" She waited for him to speak, but after he looked around he sighed. "We need to talk later, but for now…good luck." Yuuki gave it an afterthought, but decided to keep focused on the fight. "Go on, looks like Shikamira is already waiting."

Yuuki sprang down and made her way to the middle. Tsumi walked up alongside Takeshi and rested her forearm on his shoulder. Her byakugan already monitored her sister's chakra, but she was content with a smile. "Don't get worked up over her. She looks pretty stable and her chakra is looking good."

OoOo

"…So after hearing that, how can you defeat such a gifted mind like the Nara clan? Well, how about our number one seated, arguably my favorite sister, Uzumaki Yuuki!" The introduction warranted a couple chuckles amongst a deafening crowd as Yuuki was mid-way to the center.

OoOoOoOo

That's when it stopped; everything. Isami, Shikamira, her friends, and even the entire crowd. Not a single noise or movement. The wind was non-existent, aside from the shortened breaths Yuuki let escape. She turned to find herself frozen in place as well. _What the hell? Release! _Two loud claps echoed through the silence. She quickly let her byakugan activate, finding the culprits already jumping down.

"There's no need for that, sweetie." The two were dressed in a full attire of black-hooded robes with a vibrant orange flame covering the bottom and flickering to the top. _This isn't good. I'm on their terms right now. Well, looks like one women and one guy._

"Who the hell are you?" Yuuki smirked. "You caught me at a bad time; I'm itching for a fight!"

"Oh, what an annoying little-" The woman's hand silenced the deep voiced man.

The woman brought down the hood, exhaling in relief. "Ah, that's much better. Why's it gotta be a spooky hood we wear anyways?" She made her silk white hair look as neat as possible as it settled to her shoulders. "I miss my long hair…how long has it been?"

"Enough! Answer me before I get angry!" The woman gave her a gaze that made Yuuki shiver. Her face was rather pale, but the dark make-up around her eyes added a very eerie touch to it. It didn't match her soft voice at all.

Now the man stepped forward, letting his hood down. "You're as head strong as the reports suggest. Just like your idiot father. Is your mother the only one with a brain in the family, or is your…brain the only…one…fablahbah…" The woman narrowed her eyes at him as he murmured the rest of his thoughts off and looked the other way.

Yuuki scanned over the man. He was completely bald on the top, but had bushy, scarlet mutton chops. _What an idiot. These two should be in the circus. _

The woman stepped forward. "Let me apologize for my friend here. He's not good at speaking complete thoughts. I am Luna. He is Osamu. First, we come here with peaceful intentions. Next, we are members of Hell's Phoenix."

Yuuki's heart pounded. _Hell's Phoenix? Not good! I was hoping I was wrong! _"Hell's Phoenix? So, you're part of some bird?"

The woman covered her mouth. "Oh my, you really are slow. I don't understand why our leader was concerned about you." _Good, looks like they don't have much dirt on anyone, but they know of us._ "Yes, one of our more hot-headed members has decided to take his own interest over the faction's interest. He was the one who attacked you a little while back. I've had a chat with our best source, and he has made mention of your skills thus far. We would like to extend an invitation to you. Join Hell's Phoenix."

Yuuki clinched her fist. _This is getting dangerous. _"You've got a lot of guts targeting the Hokage's daughter. Do you really think you'll make it out of here, or be able to know what I'm capable of?"

"For god's sake-" Luna silenced her partner once more.

"We are not foolish, nor do we intend to stay around. The Hokage is already treating us as a threat, so now the feeling is mutual for both parties after so long. Of course we don't expect you to just up and vanish with us, and that is why Osamu is going to try to kill you." Yuuki's hairs rose and her heart sank. _It's got to be a bluff. She said peaceful intentions. _"I'd do it myself, but my hands are sort of tied at the moment."

Osamu stepped forward with a wild grin on his face. Yuuki grabbed a kunai. _This is gold as far as information goes. I can also make them think I'm still as weak as I was. _She put her fingers together and summoned two clones. _Her hands are tied? I assume she has to maintain this time stop, so Osamu must fight. Okay…think stupid. _

Yuuki bolted off towards the decent sized man with her clones, weaving in and out of each other's paths. Finally, she allowed her two clones to attack while she performed a weak fireball jutsu. Osamu smirked, grabbing her two clones with both hands held out and taking the fireball to the chest. To Yuuki's surprise, it didn't leave a mark and her clones were effectively defeated. Yuuki gasped at the information. _He absorbs chakra? I only got a tenth of what I put in them back! _The young Uzumaki panted and wobbled, causing Luna to signal a halt. Osamu gritted his teeth, kicking Yuuki to the ground hard. "The hell was that crap?"

"It would appear you are tired from these exams. I'm not sure how you made it, but you will find wasting your chakra before the match was foolish. You are weak, yet strong enough to fight a superior foe. If you join us, you will learn the potential such a technique and bloodline have."

"You didn't kill me? Why? Why would you attack me, and not the frozen in time Hokage?" Yuuki cringed. _That kick he gave me seems to have really shaken around my chakra. Is that a side-effect of his too?_

Luna chuckled. "You're so cute and ignorant. You see, I am the One for Paradox. I choose who I want to be aware in this realm, and omit the rest. We simply waited for the signal and made our move. The frozen people are not part of this realm, so we may not conflict with them. You see, once we're done here, you will be right there where your body is frozen."

"I'm the One for Affliction! Point is you're supposed to join us so we can avoid conflict. We should help each other out…or you could help other…each…your face, what? You tryin' to make fun of me?" Luna shook her head.

"We always have some sort way to reach you, as a person of interest. Our guy is good, he knows if you're sincere or not. Just ask for Hell's Phoenix to help, and he will find you. He has a way with words, you see…anyways, we've done our research. If the boss likes you, we'll be keeping tabs on you. If not, well…you might die, or just be written off as non-threatening. Usually they die…Good luck!"

OoOoOoOo

"ugh…" Yuuki wobbled a bit, thrown off by the screaming of the crowd. Isami's eye's jolted, but casually approached her.

Isami muted the mic, ruffling her hair to put on a show. "Yuuki! What just happened? Your chakra plummeted and is a little stir-crazy! Are you ok?"

Yuuki glanced around and gave him a massive grin. "I need to talk to you and dad after this. I don't think it's necessary anymore, but put the ANBU on high alert. I just encountered time stopping Hell's Phoenix members." Isami's face froze and eyes opened wide. Yuuki elbowed him in the gut. "Play it off, idiot!" Yuuki approached Shikamira and prepared for battle.

"Haha, that's what I get for teasing my sister I guess! Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you a battle of wits, technique, and overall ninja goodness. Third seat Nara Shikamira, Vs. First Seat Uzumaki Yuuki. Who will join Uchiha Takeshi in the finals? It gives me chills of anticipation. Hopefully we'll see a great fight breakout that gives them both excellent looks for the audience to enjoy!" The crowd died down, giving him a menacing glare. "And yes, I am stalling. Don't shoot the messenger folks, I have to wait for the man in charge to give me the ok, but trust me, this is going to be great!"

**-A/N-**

I must say, it's a huge relief finally completing this chapter. I kept looking back through this, and until 9/25, I was still only at 2k words. Frustrating times at home make writing less of a priority, and it's still not looking good for some of my family. I only say this as it affects my writing speed and ability, but I still hope to produce quality work. On the other hand, I know you think you know who goes to the finals, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised…okay, probably not. I tried to tone back the fighting to get you ready for a lot of story progress coming. Hopefully you'll see Chapter 20 sooner than later!

**Trivia fact**: Osamu is the lost name I intended to give Guden in the first chapter. It took me 2.5 years to find the original first few chapters, and boy were they raw. Damn it I really did like the name though, and I just couldn't remember it. I'm talking 1 chapter = 9 paragraphs vs. my current standard, which averages to about 130 paragraphs. (This one is 166 FYI) I'll include more trivia next chapter!


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